Journey of the Sorcerer
by Quatermass
Summary: (Female Crona!) Soul Resonance: the union of two souls in harmony. From the World of Exile comes a powerful scion of the Evans family, damaged by his vile guardians. Teaming up with an equally damaged girl, they make a good team, before they attract the attention of the DWMA. But Harry Potter and Crona are nothing if not adaptable, and nothing will tear their friendship apart...
1. Foreword

**FOREWORD**

Welcome to yet another symptom of my insanity: another Harry Potter crossover. This one being with _Soul Eater_ , that series that looks like Tim Burton decided he wanted to do a manga.

Anyway, those familiar with my previous works will note that there are similarities to the Cetra Heritage Saga. This is partly to explain how the insane world of _Soul Eater_ is linked to that of Harry Potter. It also takes at least one cue from _Witch Sword_ , by sakurademonalchemist: that of Harry (a girl in that particular work) and Soul being related. It also takes a cue from the original version of _Lux in Tenebris Lucet_. And I'm doing a female Crona (hey, Crona's gender is actually ambiguous), hence the marked pairing of Harry and Crona. And if I get that far, I'm only following the _Soul Eater_ plot as far as the anniversary night and the release of Asura. There'll also be elements from another franchise, as you will later discover.

The title, incidentally, comes from the piece of music by the Eagles, probably best known as the theme music to _The Hitch-Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy_. Male Witches are called Sorcerers in Soul Eater, so I thought, why not use it for this?

Anyway, the usual disclaimers. Firstly, there will be spoilers for both _Soul Eater_ and Harry Potter.

Secondly, there will be annotations, as is usual for my works.

Finally, the following is a fan-written work. Harry Potter and _Soul Eater_ are the properties of their respective owners. Please support the official release. Otherwise, Lord Death will be sending Meisters after you…


	2. Chapter 1: Bonding and Escape

**CHAPTER 1:**

 **BONDING AND ESCAPE**

It is a little known fact that two worlds are linked. One was a world where magic of many kinds was commonplace, and where history was all jumbled up like a jigsaw puzzle mashed together by an infant. The other world was where magic of any kind hid itself, and had done so for centuries. They were linked by portals, portals put in place by the incarnation of Death who held sway over these two worlds.

For the former world, where chaos and bizarre things frequently reigned, let us call it the World of Meisters, after the assassins Lord Death trains to hunt down Witches and Sorcerers, as well as the evil men and women of the world who are in danger of turning into demons known as Kishin. And for the latter world, let us call it the World of Exile, for eight centuries ago, a great exodus of Witches and Sorcerers crossed the borders in order to flee Lord Death's forces. And on occasion, others left for the World of Exile, believing strongly that being Witches and Sorcerers would lead to their deaths at the hands, or rather, Weapons, of the Meisters.

Death himself had little issue with Witches and Sorcerers, as long as they didn't succumb to the Pull of Magic, and become destructive. Unfortunately, many of those who didn't exile themselves were amongst those who succumbed to those urges, mostly Witches. And the war between the DWMA and the Witches continued over the centuries.

In addition, for many witches and wizards in the Exile World, Meisters became a sort of boogyman, a nightmarish tale to tell the children to keep their magic from alerting the Muggles, for the Meisters will get them, and their Weapons would eat their souls. But even then, they soon faded into legend.

One of the last sets of exiles left but a mere century before the events of this story began. A branch of the Evans family found that they were developing magical powers, and opted to exile themselves. Lord Death pled for them not to leave, as the Evans were a family of Weapons of prodigious ability, and he knew that they could resist the Pull of Magic. But there had been a rift in the family over this matter, and the only thing they would concede to was allowing Death to gift them with an artifact that, if they wished to return, they could do so.

* * *

None of this meant anything to Harry Potter. The Evans family forgot about their heritage as Weapons, sealing away the memories and power. They even forgot about the magic they carried, for a number of their children didn't have magic, but were considered Squibs by the standards of Magical Britain. Until Lily Evans, his mother.

Even then, her Weapon heritage never came forth. The bindings were too strong. But her child, should those bindings ever be undone, had another heritage. One of the families that left the World of Meisters during the initial exodus were the Peverells, a trio of Weapon brothers and once amongst Death's greatest allies. However, they opted to leave for the World of Exile, as suspicion was falling on them from some of the more paranoid Meisters, and Death granted them artifacts of their choosing as they crossed the divide to another world. Their misadventures became corrupted into a fairy tale for wizards.

One of the Peverell brothers became part of the heritage of the Potter family. And when James Potter and Lily Evans married, the potential power within their child was great. But it was still locked away.

Petunia Evans, now Petunia Dursley, considered her nephew a freak. She didn't know how right she was, albeit for all the wrong reasons. Instead, as he grew, she and her family began treating Harry as a servant, no, a _slave_. No bedroom he was given. Instead, he was forced to sleep in a cupboard underneath the stairs, and told it was a privilege. They poisoned the ears and minds of their neighbours, claiming that he was the delinquent son of layabout parents who had died in a drunken accident, and whom they had taken in out of the goodness of their hearts. Some believed it, others believed that the Dursleys were full of it, but either way, they didn't care about Harry Potter. The real delinquent of the family, Dudley, was allowed to beat his cousin.

They didn't know it, but Harry had an imaginary friend. Had they known, they would have tried to beat it out of him. He had a friend in a little girl he only met in his dreams…

* * *

Crona was a Meister. This was what her mother, Medusa Gorgon, had deemed when she was born. Crona didn't know she had a father. The concept of family was alien to her. Her mother had molten down the demon sword Ragnarok, and replaced her very blood with it, along with the Black Blood. Her mother made her dress in androgynous clothing, not deigning to call her by any pronoun. She spoke terms of endearment without any sincerity.

Crona had very little signposts for what was right and wrong. But even she balked at her first kill. Only the repeated imprisonments with only Ragnarok for company had her kill the rabbit she was ordered to. But even in that darkness, there was something else.

An imaginary friend that she told nobody about. Not her mother, not Ragnarok. A boy she had met in her dreams…

* * *

The night before everything went weird, Harry (now eight) met Crona in his dreams, only to find the pink-haired girl clutching her knees, curled up in a ball, crying. He went to comfort her, only to be rebuffed. "Crona, what's the matter?" Harry asked.

"Go away! I don't know how to deal with you anymore!"

It took some time for him to get it out of her, and Harry was, understandably, horrified. He wanted to do nothing more than to go to Crona and save her from her mother. He felt so impotent. So angry. Crona, to him, was very real, even if he could only talk to her in his dreams.

Then, he felt something unlock within him. His arm suddenly seemed to extend into a strange, wavy blade. He stared at it, as did Crona.

It was Crona, her pale blue eyes staring at the blade in shock, who answered the question that hadn't yet been asked. "Harry…" she murmured. "You're a _Weapon_. I…I don't know how to deal with that."

"A Weapon? You mean like Ragnarok?" Harry asked in horror.

"No, no, you're a _born_ Weapon. Like those in the Academy." She looked at him, and said, "You're a _Weapon_ , Harry. I wish I had you instead of Ragnarok. I'm not sure how to deal with him."

Crona didn't know it, but she was going to get her wish very soon…

* * *

Petunia Evans had no idea that one of the rings she wore was an artifact forged by the Grim Reaper himself. If she had known this, she would have removed it forthwith. As it was, it was one of the few things she had that her sister didn't. And she had had to steal it from her recently deceased parents' home to ensure that.

It had a small stone of jet set into it, a pitch black stone, shiny, and yet, vaguely sinister, like it was something's eye. Unblinking. Uncaring. She wore it as a constant reminder that Lily couldn't have everything.

Another reminder was the boy she delighted in tormenting. The boy was a freak like his parents, but she was going to make sure his life was a living hell.

Case in point: she dragged him out of his cupboard by the hair, intending to make him cook breakfast. The little bastard had gotten argumentative about his parents the night before. She would make sure that he suffered an 'accidental' burn or two to teach him some manners.

At least, that was the plan.

As she yanked her nephew out by the hair, his hands went instinctively up to her own…and then, she felt pain, and a warm gushing from her hand. The look of horror as she looked at the bleeding stump where her hand used to be was matched on Harry's own. It only increased when the both of them looked at Harry's arm, changed in shape to what looked like a sword with a wavy blade.

 _Flame-bladed sword_ , Petunia thought distantly, with the sole part of her mind that was still lucid. The rest of her began screaming in equal parts fear, pain, and anger.

Vernon stormed down the stairs, and then got angry. As was his wont to do. His face turned puce at the sight he beheld. "What the hell did you do, Freak?!"

Harry waved the blade his arm had become in front of him, his eyes wide. Vernon halted his advance. Angry and stupid though he was, he also understood that charging at a child who had a blade for an arm was a terminally bad idea. Petunia, meanwhile, snarled, "This must be one of their freakish powers! Call an ambulance! And the police! He's got to be locked up!"

Vernon nodded, dashing for the phone. Meanwhile, Harry stared at Petunia's hand in horror, the one he had severed. Something about the ring called to him, and he knelt down to touch it. "Don't you dare touch it, Freak!" Petunia shrieked, meaning her hand rather than the ring.

But it was too late. Just as Vernon had finished calling the police and the ambulance, Harry, along with the ring, vanished in a flare of light.

* * *

Crona's bedroom was little more than a prison cell. Bed, toilet, sink, and shower. It had basic amenities, but little else. Nothing of sentimental value. Nothing that showed it was anything more than a prison for the girl who lived in it.

She was sitting in bed, dreading the start of the day, wishing that Harry would come and be her Weapon, instead of the bullying Ragnarok. But she knew, even at her young age, that such things were childish hopes.

So when Harry appeared in a strobe of light, Crona, for a moment, couldn't believe it. Neither could Harry, to tell the truth, but only Crona reacted to it by murmuring, "I don't know how to deal with this…"

"Crona?" Harry asked, his green eyes staring from beneath his messy mop of dark hair. "Is that really you?"

"I think so," Crona said, poking and prodding at her own face and body. Then, she grunted in pain as some black mass burst from her back, forming into a vaguely humanoid figure with doll-like button eyes, and cartoonish gloves. "Yes, this isn't a dream. Ragnarok doesn't hurt so much when this is a dream," Crona groaned.

"Hey, Crona, who's the little brat?" Ragnarok demanded. "Ooh, he looks tasty. And he stinks of being a Weapon, too." He began giving the androgynous, pink-haired girl a noogie.

"Hey, you stop that!" Harry snarled. He raised his arm, the one that had changed into a blade. "Stop hurting her!"

"Make me, short stuff!" Ragnarok sneered.

Then, things got considerably worse. The door opened, and an elegant woman, dressed in a black, sleeveless hooded suit, walked in, barefoot. Her blonde hair was cut short, save for a pair of tresses that intertwined in front of her chest. Her golden, ophidian eyes were filled with cruelty and malice, marring what could have been a beautiful, even maternal face. Her arms were adorned with strange tattoos that resembled snakes.

"Oh dear," she said. "Somehow, or other, we have a filthy little intruder. And a Weapon to boot."

Harry ran over to Crona, leaping onto the bed just as a Vector Plate formed under his feet. "Are you Medusa?" he asked, glaring at her.

"Ah, so my reputation precedes me," Medusa Gorgon said, with a nasty smirk on her face. "So you're not from the Academy, then. They have no idea I exist." Her tongue flickered out, like a snake, but briefly. "Hmm. Smells of magic in here. Some of it Death's filthy stench, but there's also the smell of a Sorcerer…" She looked down at the ground, and saw the ring, left behind by Harry. "There it is. That has Death's stench." Dozens of Vector Arrows spat out from her body, and reduced it to dust. She then returned her gaze to Harry. "Hmm, what to do with you? It'll be interesting to see how you react to the Black Blood…assuming you survive it. I'm guessing you're a stray Weapon, but one who has the blood of a Witch or a Sorcerer flowing through your veins."

Harry wanted nothing more than to stop her advance. Something within him gave, and Crona, to her astonishment, saw him change into a flame-bladed sword, the hilt having a fanged skull on it(1).

Crona, afraid for Harry, snatched the Weapon he had become up. She could withstand what her mother did to her…but she didn't want Harry to get hurt. As she touched the Weapon, she felt…good. Harry's soul reaching out to her. It felt right. As if Harry was what she needed as a Weapon, and not Ragnarok. Ragnarok, meanwhile, was still watching these events with some amusement. He had little personal loyalty to either Medusa or Crona. "Stay back! I won't let you hurt him!" Crona shrieked, waving Harry desperately.

"Crona, are you really pointing a sword at your own mother?" Medusa asked, more amused than threatened. Ragnarok was more than capable of killing Medusa, in theory at least, so if Crona was incapable of killing Medusa with Ragnarok, why should she be worried about Crona wielding this intruder? She stepped forward confidently.

In retrospect, it was a mistake. Medusa had all of a second before Crona suddenly lunged forward, the Weapon in her hands bisecting the Witch, whose top half fell to the floor with an extremely surprised look on her face. Crona, for the briefest of moments, froze. Then, some desperate impulse drove her to flee that room.

* * *

It took a few more moments before Medusa recovered enough from her own bisection. Oh, she would still need to send out a Snake containing her soul to possess a new body. That was a pain in the arse, to say the least. But she managed to recover from the sheer unthinkable nature of the event that had just happened. True, she had been planning on having Crona kill her eventually, but only once her experiments into the Black Blood were complete, and she was sure Crona had what it took to be a Kishin. It was to be the climax of her experiments.

It looked like such an experiment would have to be put on hold, for the moment. She needed to conserve as much energy as possible for transferring her soul to one of her Snakes, so pursuing her child was out of the question for the time being. Besides, with her injury, she lost control over her Soul Protect, and the agents of the DWMA could be on their way.

" _Nake, Snake, Cobra, Cobbra_ ," she hissed, the syllables of her personal chant helping her to focus. Her soul took control over one of her Snakes, before she forced her ruined body to disintegrate utterly. A setback, but one she could deal with for the time being.

She slithered away in the body of her Snake familiar, leading the rest of them away. She knew, though, that once she had recovered, and she could track down her treacherous brood and put Crona back under her control, she would punish her child. And that Weapon that stank of magic.

* * *

Meanwhile, two children fled. They didn't run. Instead, one had picked up the other, while she used wings as black as pitch to fly them away. Away from their crime.

Later, they would think of the enormity of what they did. But for now, only flight mattered, escape into an unknown and uninviting world…

 **CHAPTER 1 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **So, Harry is now not only in the world of** ** _Soul Eater_** **, but now he's Crona's Weapon partner, or at least a better one than Ragnarok. And they've just killed Medusa. She'll get better, not that they know that. That will haunt them for a while. They're only eight, which is a pretty bad age to commit, even in desperation, matricide. Even against someone as vile as Medusa, who makes Petunia and Vernon Dursley look like they should win awards by comparison.**

 **I'm blending concepts of the manga and the anime. The Kishin Eggs, for example, will be used in this story, but most of the story will be more based on the manga.**

 **There'll be a time-skip of about five years, until the events of the series take place. The next chapter, in fact, will begin around Black Star's debut chapter/episode. And before you ask, Hogwarts won't play much of a role until later in the fic. Dumbledore doesn't know where the hell Harry ended up.**

 **1\. Harry's Weapon transformation is based on the Soul Reaver from the** ** _Legacy of Kain_** **games. As you'll learn later on, this is no accident. The reason why I chose that, however, was that I originally intended for Harry to become a Meister, and to a Weapon OC named Durandal (after the sword of Roland). I had this notion that Durandal, in** ** _Final Fantasy XII_** **, was a flame-bladed sword, but I was actually thinking of Tournesol, in retrospect. When I decided to have Harry as a Weapon, and have Crona as his Meister, I changed Harry into a flame-bladed Weapon, but decided to base it more on the Soul Reaver.**


	3. Chapter 2: Teenage Shouty Ninja Egotist

**CHAPTER 2:**

 **TEENAGE SHOUTY NINJA EGOTIST**

 _Five years later…_

Demon Cinder Castle: a sinister, broken silhouette of a structure, clawing at the cloudy sky, where the sun scowled down from above. The ruins of a castle, with a tilted statue of a lizard's face poking out its tongue above the door. A man in a suit, smoking a cigar, and followed by a number of goons in similar suits, was approaching it. They halted just as they were about to ascend the stairs, for sitting on them, a sheathed sword at the ready, was a young man with long hair.

"What brings Don Al Capone, king of the underworld, here?" the young man asked. "Choose your answer with care: your life depends on it."

Capone snorted. "Are you threatening me, wise guy? Ice him," he said to his minions.

"I think that's your answer, Mifune," came an amused voice from behind them. They whirled to find a pair of kids, in their early teens. Both were scrawny and slender. One was androgynous, with pink hair, pale blue eyes, and dressed in what could have been a black dress, or a robe. Her eyes shifted around anxiously. The other was a dark-haired boy with green eyes framed by glasses. He had a rather sardonic smirk that seemed too old for his face. "Can we take this lot?"

Mifune, the young man with the sword, smiled a thin little smile. "All yours. They're all Kishin Eggs anyway. Should be good enough for your total, Harry."

"Plus, Ragnarok's been getting antsy. Wanted to try out our new combos," the dark-haired boy said. He then transformed into a sword with a wavy blade, one which the pink-haired teen caught in her right hand. Black liquid burst out of the back of that teen, before reforming into a pitch-black blade with lips on the blade.

"A Weapons Meister?!" Capone demanded. "Are you with the DWMA, trying to poach the Witch?"

The pink-haired teen looked at him. "I don't know how to deal with people like you. Well, except for one way. Harry, Ragnarok…Dual Resonance."

The black sword began to scream, a hideous, hateful thing, matched by the pink-haired teen, who screamed in both anguish and to psych herself up. Had Capone and his men been capable of seeing souls, they would have seen the most extraordinary sight. And if they were acquainted with such things, they would have thought it utterly impossible.

But they didn't. Instead, they could only gape when the pink-haired teen said quietly, "Swords Dance: Dancing Mad." And then, she was suddenly amongst them like a whirling dervish, her swords slicing through them like hot knives through butter. Soon, Capone's men were dead, and the man himself was pissing himself in fear.

The black sword dissipated, though a strange, muscled thing sprouted from the teen's shoulders. "Okay, Crona and Harry! Big finale! Do me proud!"

Crona, the pink-haired teen, gave a very slight smile, before she hefted the wavy-bladed sword, and dashed forward. " _Ultimate Weapon Technique: The Soul Reaver!_ " she yelled.

Capone's scream died instantly, along with the man himself, when the sword passed through him. His body exploded into shards of shadow, his purulent soul briefly caught on the blade before being absorbed into it like water into a sponge. Soon afterwards, Harry transformed back to normal, working his neck to get the cricks out of it. "Well, that was easy. And productive. Thanks for letting me have the finale, Ragnarok."

"Meh, no biggie, I had the last one."

"Don't you mean the last six or seven?" Harry asked the demon sword wryly. "I never get a chance to use the Soul Reaver technique lately, what with you pigging out."

"Hey, don't give me any lip, squirt!" Ragnarok retorted. "I've got a big appetite, and since you wimps won't let me chow down on any old soul…"

"Please, stop fighting!" Crona protested. "I don't know how to deal with that!"

"I do. You two, shut up," Mifune said. Harry instantly shut up. He actually respected the stoic bodyguard. Whereas Ragnarok retreated back into Crona, but not before blowing a raspberry. "Someone else has tripped the perimeter wards Angela set up. I think it may be a Meister and their Weapon. It seems that the DWMA have taken notice of Angela."

"She's still off delivering that potion?" Harry asked.

"Yes. But it may be that I am a Strong Soul. I think Lord Death has sent some idiot to have me teach him a lesson. I wish Death wouldn't do so. I am a bodyguard, not a teacher. I don't think Angela would count as a Witch Death would want dead."

"So what do we do?" Crona asked.

"Ambush. I will do it. You only intervene if necessary."

* * *

They had only joined up with Mifune about a fortnight ago. They had travelled for a long time, a pair of kids alone in the world (save for the dubious company of Ragnarok, anyway). The longest they spent in any one place was a couple of years in Brooklyn, teaming up with the Thompson Sisters, a pair of thieves and muggers who were also Weapons themselves. Not the nicest of people, but the Thompsons had helped them out, helped them survive, before Harry and Crona decided to move on.

They decided that they were going to become a Weapon and Meister pair, but independent of the DWMA. Harry was, after all, a Sorcerer, a male Witch. He might end up being a target of the DWMA. They chose to follow a similar path, though, in order to avoid attention, not to mention the morality of eating any souls other than Kishin Eggs. It was also, in a way, penance for killing Medusa: as much as she had been quite evil to Crona, it had also been their first kill, done in panic, and while unprepared for the enormity of such an act.

They came to this ruined castle to seek shelter, only to be challenged by Mifune, who had recognised that they were a Meister and a Weapon. It took some persuading for him to believe that they weren't here for his life, or for that of Angela Leon. In fact, it didn't take long for the young Witch to adopt Harry and Crona as her big brother and big sister, respectively. Mifune offered to help with their sword-fighting skills, which they accepted. And they sometimes helped Mifune deal with anyone who wanted to attack Angela.

* * *

Soon, the intruders appeared. One was a boy with spiky blue hair and an arrogant, energetic demeanour. The other was a slightly older girl, with dark hair and a rather demure demeanour. Surprising, given that both were dressed in ninja clothing.

"What's with this place?" the boy asked, looking around.

Mifune suddenly leapt down, slashing at the boy. It was more of a warning ambush, meant to warn the boy off. "It's been a busy day," he muttered.

"Hey, you must be the bodyguard I heard of," the boy said. "Didja kill all these bozos?"

"Not this lot," Mifune said. "These weaklings perished to…colleagues of mine. Are you here for the Witch's power?"

The ninja boy grinned cheerfully. "Yep! And your soul too!" As Mifune glared, the ninja boy said to his comrade, "Tsubaki!"

"Yes, Black Star," the girl said, changing into a pair of sickles, chained together.

"As I thought, a Weapon Meister. You've come for Angela's soul," Mifune said.

"And you're in so much awe of facing me, it puts things into perspective, huh? Don't worry, I used to get shocked by my awesomeness whenever I looked into a mirror."

Harry whispered to Crona, as they watched from hiding amongst the rubble, "Is it me, or does he have a big ego?"

Crona chuckled softly. Meanwhile, Mifune's eyes narrowed. "You're dead."

Black Star sneered. "Gonna hafta make a big sword from a big Buddha statue to even have a chance!" He then lashed out with one of the sickles, wrapping it around Mifune's sword, and yanking it from his grasp. Even as Black Star taunted the swordsman, Mifune was already moving, snatching a sword from where it had been embedded in a nearby column from a previous attempt on Angela's life, only to slam it down on Black Star's chain scythe.

"Your reflexes are good, but if this had been a normal weapon, you'd be dead," Mifune said. He then plucked another sword, left over from the last attempt, from the ground, and began swiping at the boy.

Harry knew that Mifune was actually taking it easy on Black Star. He would have been dead long ago, otherwise. Black Star yelped as he backed into a column, and Mifune flung a sword into it, above his head.

"Get out of here, brat," Mifune said. "I don't like killing kids."

This seemed to only inflame the anger of Black Star. "You bastard! Is it because I'm small? I'm in the big time, you moron! Tsubaki, Shuriken Mode!"

 _That's interesting_ , Harry thought, as the girl changed from a pair of scythes chained together, into a massive five-pointed shuriken. _She can shift between different weapons_.

"I'm gonna cut you into pieces, and then who'll be small?!" He hurled the shuriken. Mifune leapt expertly over it, and jammed his sword into the hole in the middle, halting Tusbaki. However, Black Star then yelled, "Smoke bomb!" And soon, Mifune and Black Star were obscured by a blast of smoke, only for Black Star to laugh as he lunged, "YOUR SOUL IS MINE!"

Mifune merely smashed him away with the back of his sword, sending him sprawling, and causing Tsubaki to reappear, rushing over to Black Star in concern. Black Star snarled, "You're cocky. Only big shots like yours truly hit with the back of a sword."

"Empty vessels make the most noise. You're no big shot. You're small fry. You ignore your partner's concern and advice, and it is only thanks to her that you've done as well as you have had."

"That's not true at all!" Tsubaki yelled. "He's trying his best! He's just a bit off."

Meanwhile, Black Star was scowling. "What the hell is your game, Mifune?"

"I'm protecting Angela. That's all."

"No, it isn't!" The boy snarled. "You're calling me small fry just to make yourself seem big! To make yourself the star! Well, I'm Black Star, the lead of this show, and I don't take kindly to upstaging upstarts!"

Harry was chilled by the rage in the boy's eyes. The boy wanted Mifune dead now, more than he did before. It had been a game before, but now, as he commanded Tsubaki to change into a ninja sword, he was taking this very seriously.

He went into a lecture mode, discussing the rules of the Way of Assassination. Suddenly, Harry could see Black Star rushing up behind Mifune, with the one in front changing into Tusbaki, who vanished. "Behind you!" Harry screamed.

Mifune leapt into the air just in time to avoid Black Star charging into him. But then, Black Star glared around. "Okay, where's the audience who's refusing to cheer on the hero?!"

"That's blown our cover," Harry muttered. "Come on, Crona. Let's show him."

"O-Okay," Crona stuttered.

The pair of them walked out to the astonishment of Black Star. "Hey," Harry said. "Look, this is pretty awkward, but…Mifune's our friend. Plus, the Witch you're after is pretty young. I mean, in fishing, you don't keep the little fish, do you?"

"Who the hell are you?" Black Star demanded.

"I'm Harry. This is Crona. You've met Mifune. Look, Lord Death probably sent you here as a lesson. I'm guessing you need remedial classes. I mean, you've got ability, Mifune's comments notwithstanding, but, well, Crona and I don't have many friends. We take issue when you try to kill them."

"Shut up! He's a bodyguard to a Witch!" Black Star said.

"So are we. Crona, you ready?"

"Yeah…"

Harry transformed. Speaking to Crona, he said, " _Let's not kill him. Just give him a bit of a painful spanking._ "

"STOP!" And just before the fight could get any uglier, Angela Leon reappeared, a young Witch, little older than a toddler, appeared. Brown haired, red-eyed, and with a quirky hat looking like a chameleon poking its tongue out. "Leave Mifune and my brother and sister alone! They protect me because my magic isn't strong yet!"

Black Star honestly looked shocked that Angela was a child, despite Harry saying that earlier. Then again, he was either not listening, or didn't believe Harry. Eventually, as Angela brandished her broom, he said, "Let's go, Tsubaki. Not worth my time. Besides, I don't like killing kids."

As they passed by Harry and Crona, with Harry transforming back, Tsubaki frowned. "Are you two with the DWMA? I've never seen you two before."

"We're not with the Academy. Don't worry, we don't intend to do anything to anger Lord Death. Just tell him not to send anyone after Angela or Mifune again."

"Will do! The magnificent Black Star always has the ear of the Reaper!" Black Star said with a grin. "By the way, what are your names?"

"Harry Potter. And this is Crona."

"Maybe we'll see you again some time," Tsubaki said, a little embarrassed. "Preferably under better circumstances." The two of them then made off.

Mifune joined Harry and Crona. "That was reckless, letting them know where you were. But thanks for warning me. That kid's arrogant, but he's got surprising skill. He just needs to get more serious."

"They're just big bullies!" Angela said, pouting.

"Do you think Lord Death will stop targeting Angela?" Harry asked.

"If Black Star reports it right, he will stop doing so for the time being. He may keep an eye on her. As long as that is all, then I care not. I intend to keep her safe." He looked at them. "But you've now drawn Death's attention to yourselves. You gave your names, too. The Academy may not take kindly to an independent Meister and Weapon. I will be able to protect Angela alone. You have my deepest gratitude, though. Come and visit."

The next day, Harry and Crona departed, knowing that they had made at least two firm friends. But it was true: by giving their names to a Weapon and Meister duo from the DWMA, they may just have painted a big target on their backs.

As it would turn out, a few weeks later, they would have an encounter with another duo from the DWMA, and it was an encounter that would change their lives…

 **CHAPTER 2 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **Mifune versus Black Star, and Harry, Crona, and Ragnarok show off their partnership. In case you're wondering why Harry's so chipper, well, it's a mask to hide that he's a more than a bit like Crona (only without the depressing poetry). Crona and Ragnarok, conversely, have improved: Ragnarok's no longer that much of a bully, and Crona is less perpetually depressed. She does still have a habit of not knowing how to deal with situations, though.**

 **Dual Resonance is basically a combination of Soul Resonance and Scream Resonance. Only about two years prior to this chapter did they perfect it, which means that Crona can use Harry and Ragnarok in tandem.**

 **I detest Black Star. He's an annoying little POS. He's basically Naruto with no charm or endearing qualities whatsoever.**

 **Next chapter will be Harry and Crona meeting Maka and Soul, in a different version of the events in Florence.**


	4. Chapter 3: An Offer You Can't Refuse

**CHAPTER 3:**

 **AN OFFER YOU CAN'T REFUSE**

A few weeks later, they were in Florence, Italy, having caught wind of a serial killer called Sonson-J, the infamous Killer of Emerald Lake. They found the man on a roof, clutching a knife. The bulky man wore a shirt with '13th' on it, and a sack over his head with eyeholes. He glared at them. "A Weapon and a Meister?! How come you guys get to kill how many people you want?!"

"We don't. We just kill people like you," Harry said, before transforming into his Weapon form.

"Soul Resonance," Crona intoned, before she thrummed with power. As the killer leapt at them desperately, Crona dashed forward, swinging the sword. " _Ultimate Weapon Technique: The Soul Reaver!_ " she cried.

Almost instantly, Sonson-J burst into shards of shadow, his soul sucked into the flame-bladed sword Harry had become. But as Crona landed, she heard a voice say, "Hey, that was ours, you killstealing idiots!"

Crona looked up, and Harry, whose image peered out from a reflection on his blade, followed her gaze. A girl about their age, dressed in what seemed like a formal school uniform, was looking down at them, frowning. Her blonde hair was done in twin pigtails. She was wielding a scythe, and poking from the blade was the head and shoulders of a white-haired boy with a headband and a mouth full of sharp teeth, clearly a Weapon partially transformed.

" _Oh, crap_ ," Harry muttered. " _I think they're DWMA._ "

"There's only two of them…" The girl muttered. "Why can I sense three?" Louder, she said, "Who are you? Are you DWMA students?"

"Harry…can you do the talking? I'm not sure how to deal with this," Crona said.

Harry sighed. " _Fine._ " He then transformed back into human form.

"Harry? Are you the rogue Meister and Weapon duo reported by Black Star?" the girl asked.

"I dunno. Crona, are we rogues?" Harry said, looking at Crona, who shrugged, looking around anxiously, fidgeting. "Well, we're not with the DWMA, if that's what you mean. But we're trying not to piss off Lord Death, either."

"You're pissing _me_ off, stealing our kills!" the white-haired boy yelled.

"Soul!" the girl rebuked her Weapon.

"Another loud boy with a calm girl?" Crona asked. "I don't know how to deal with this."

"I'm not sure I want to deal with this," Harry sighed. "Look, did that killer have a sign over his head saying he was yours? No? He was a Kishin Egg, therefore, he was fair game to any Weapon. Anyway, you know our names, so what are yours?"

"Maka Albarn. And this is Soul Eater Evans."

"Anyway, we're not taking anyone other than Kishin Eggs. So, I think you should let us go."

Maka frowned. "Wait. Your full name…was it Harry Potter?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"The Thompson Sisters spoke of you after they heard about Black Star's mission against Mifune and Angela," Maka mused.

"Wait, the Thompson Sisters are with the DWMA now?" Harry couldn't believe it. They were the most independent people he knew. "Who're they with?"

"Death the Kid. Lord Death's son."

Harry and Crona looked at each other. Then, Harry, who was still the spokesperson of the pair, said, "Look, is this going to be one of those bits where we fight to the death over a misunderstanding or something?"

"It was no misunderstanding, you stole our kill!" Soul snarled. "We're here on an extra assignment!"

"Whereas you two are acting without authorisation." The voice was soft, lazy, and nasal, but carried an unmistakeable ring of quiet authority. It came from behind them. Harry and Crona turned to find a man wearing a lab coat, and wielding a scythe. The man looked like he had been stitched together hastily, as if he had had a bad accident, and the surgeons had been hurried. A massive screw went through the side of his head, while he peered at them curiously from behind glasses. "Lord Death has heard of an independent Meister and Weapon duo for some years now, even before the Thompson Sisters joined us. He has tolerated your activities, as you seem to only target those with Kishin Eggs for souls. But when we heard you were in Florence at the same time as one of our own teams…I was sent by Lord Death. If your intentions were malign, then I was going to deal with you. But your intentions seem benign. I can see your souls. Despite your Witch-like wavelength, Harry, you don't suffer from the Pull of Magic, and you haven't been eating anything other than Kishin Eggs. So Lord Death has asked me to bring you to him. We can begin your formal education at the DWMA."

"Even though I'm a Witch?"

"Our issue is with Witches who have succumbed to the Pull of Magic. Black Star was an idiot who didn't want to stick around for Lord Death's full explanation. And Death thought that it'd be a good lesson. Unfortunately, he forgot who he was talking to." The man paused to twist the screw a couple of times, the action having the air of someone winding up a toy. "Anyway, we're here to recruit you into the Academy."

"And what if we refuse?" Harry asked.

"I never said refusal was an option. I am Three-Star Meister Franken Stein, and this Weapon I'm wielding is Spirit Albarn, Lord Death's personal Death Scythe. You may refuse to join the Academy, true, but refusing to come with us and talk to Lord Death before then is another matter entirely."

"Harry, I've never seen a man with a screw in his head before. I don't know how to deal with that," Crona murmured, shivering.

"Can you at least put the scythe down?" Harry asked. "Crona gets a bit skittish."

"Fine. Spirit?"

The Death Scythe transformed into a red-haired man in a suit. He put his hands up. "Sorry if we're scaring you, Crona, but orders are orders from Lord Death. Actually, he's most interested in you, Harry."

"Me? Why me?"

"Well, your Weapon form for one. It's apparently a thing of legend. Plus, a Sorcerer who's also a Weapon is astounding enough. Look, like Stein said, all you have to do is come back to the DWMA with us, and talk to Lord Death. After that, if he's satisfied, then you'll be free to leave, or even join the Academy."

Harry wasn't sure he wanted to. While it didn't smell of a trick, he wasn't sure whether he should go quietly. But if Stein wasn't bragging, then Harry knew he would be in trouble. He wasn't sure of his own ranking, save that he was probably a Two-Star rating at most. Against one like Stein, he had little chance. "Okay, but don't pull anything."

* * *

The trip back to the DWMA was surprisingly quick, given that it was in the Nevada Desert, but the Meisters could, at times, use portals that went back and forth. This was one of those times.

The DWMA was a spectacular castle, both goofy and imposing. They were soon led down corridors inside the building, before coming to a door marked 'Death's Door'. Stein opened it, and the three Meisters and three Weapons made their way through. It was a surreal landscape that was somehow indoors, and they moved along a path over which guillotines hung, while a blue sky filled with clouds was overhead.

Eventually, they came to a raised platform, dominated by two features: a large mirror, and a large chair. Lounging in this chair was a boy, a little older than them, with spiky black hair with a trio of horizontal white streaks on the right side (or his left) of the hair. His yellow eyes peered at them curiously.

Flanking the boy, however, were a pair of familiar faces. "Crona! Harry!" Liz Thompson said, the long-haired girl smiling. Her shorter-haired, more energetic (and psychotic) sister was grinning. "You two are okay."

Harry shrugged. "Yeah. And you two joined the DWMA."

"Hey, it's fun. Besides, our Meister here is the son of Lord Death."

"Nice to meet you," the boy said politely. "I am Death the Kid. And you must be Harry and Crona."

"Yep! That's who they are!"

This last was a cheerful, high pitched voice that seemed innocuous coming from the bizarre figure near the mirror. At first glance, he seemed to be wearing a pitch black robe, and wearing a goofy, skull-like mask. But the robe seemed to be, on closer examination, more of a ragged gash in the very air itself, and Harry knew who it was. "Lord Death, I presume?"

"Yep, that's me! Hi, guys! It's good to meet you!"

Lord Death was certainly…different to what Harry had thought. He had thought of someone more ominous and dark. He wasn't expecting this goofy, bouncing thing with the clowny voice. "Death is talking to me," Crona murmured. "I don't know how to deal with this."

"Oh dear. I think it's a getting bit crowded. Stein? Spirit? Maka? Soul? You may leave us," Death said. "And Maka? Soul? You got two of the assigned Kishin Egg souls, so don't worry about not taking Sonson-J's soul. Outside interference will not affect your grades, and in any case, a horrible killer is off our books either way!" He clapped together a pair of bone-white hands that looked like massive foam hands cheerfully.

Soon, the other four left, and Death turned to the newcomers. "Now then, Harry, would you please turn into your Weapon form?"

Harry did so, albeit somewhat puzzled. After he did so, though, Death clapped his hands together again. "As I thought! Harry, did you ever learn the maiden name of your mother?"

Harry, transforming back, said, "Well, no, but her sister…my aunt, she once said something about her father being an Evans."

"Ah! Indeed! I believe that you are distantly related to young Soul, who just left. But before I explain any more, would you be so kind as to tell me your lives? Your eyes are far too old for those so young."

Death was so damned nice that Harry and Crona, albeit hesitantly, began to give Death the history of their respective lives. His goofy demeanour became subdued, though, when he learned of how appalling those lives were, and Harry didn't fail to notice Death the Kid's eyes narrowing. Patty and Liz offered anecdotes from the two years Harry and Crona lived with them. Eventually, after describing their escape, Death called a halt to the explanation. "I believe we came across Medusa's laboratory shortly after your escape, as we felt the soul of a powerful Witch suddenly appear, and then disappear. Your attack must have caused her to drop her Soul Protect spell. However, there was no sign of her body. Witches are hardy, but even such a wound would have been mortal, given enough time. It's possible that she deliberately self-destructed, in order to prevent her soul from being harvested. Or it's possible that she had a back-up plan that would allow her to survive. Witches are tenacious, after all, especially the evil ones, and they'd view death without accomplishing their goals as utter defeat."

"But Father, how did these two get a mental link in the first place?" Death the Kid asked.

"I don't know. It may be that their souls, hurt by their respective guardians, reached out across the void that divides the worlds, and found each other. Even I, the Grim Reaper himself, cannot claim to know everything about the soul. In any case, it seems that Medusa's insane plan to create a Kishin has been delayed, if not outright scuppered. True, you still have the Black Blood within you, Crona, as well as the Demon Sword Ragnarok, but you haven't been feeding it the souls of anything but Kishin Eggs, and the effects of the Black Blood have been minimised by your association with Harry, it seems. That merely makes you dangerous, but not evil. It's something to be thankful for, especially as you've walked down the path of one of my Weapon Meister teams, even without actually being one." His attention then turned to Harry. "Now, I mentioned that you are one of the Evans family. In truth, I believe that you are heir to one of their most extraordinary powers. The Thompson Twins spoke to me of the Soul Reaver technique you have used. It is probably one of the most powerful techniques of any Weapon Meister, more powerful even than the Hunt-Slash techniques. It allows one to slay an enemy and consume their soul in the same action, and is unique to your Weapon form, Harry, the Soul Reaver."

"So this sword I change into is called the Soul Reaver?" Harry asked, frowning.

"Indeed. It is sometimes called the Legacy of Kain, after one of the earliest Meisters in this world. Over a thousand years ago, long before I formed the Eight Warlords who preceded the DWMA, a portal to another world, distinct from both this one, and the one you came from, Harry, opened. Through this portal, a man bearing a massive sword came through. No, both more and less than a man, for he was a vampire of incredible age and power by the name of Kain. He had been forced to flee his own world, despite fighting against his own fate. His Weapon had once, long ago, been one of his lieutenants, Raziel. They had both been fighting against an entity who had usurped my own place in that world. I will not recount their complicated adventures now. Kain, reluctantly, agreed to settle here. I used my power to grant Raziel the ability to change freely from the sword to his body, and also ridding himself of both his vampirism, as well as his condition as a wraith. It was Raziel, now once more a mortal man, who founded what would become the Evans line. Eventually, the two opted to return to their world for a final effort to overcome their nemesis. Whether they succeeded or not, I don't know. But the Legacy of Kain lives on in you. Once every few generations, an Evans becomes a Soul Reaver. It seems that you are the latest."

"…So, what happens now?" Harry asked.

"Well, up to you, really. I'd prefer you here under my aegis at the DWMA. But you've been really good kids so far, and as long as you stayed on the straight and narrow, I wouldn't send anyone after you. But the truth is, an independent Meister and Weapon will be a target for Witches even more than those from the DWMA."

Harry and Crona looked at each other, before Harry said, "I'm considering joining, but on one big condition."

"Which is?"

"Mifune and Angela…I'm worried about them. Would the DWMA have any objection to harbouring a Witch, even a really young one?"

"Of course not. It's the Witches who are destructive I take issue with. Unfortunately, Black Star didn't grasp the meaning of what I sent him to do, and I underestimated his power. I tried to tell him how old Angela was, but he ran off with only half an explanation. Frankly, I expected the experience to humble him. It backfired somewhat. Of course, the big question is whether Mifune and Angela will consent to the DWMA's protection. In any case, I believe Soul and Maka have a flat adjacent to their own vacant. Or, as long as you're tidy, there are rooms in our mansion you could live in. They just need to be kept tidy for my son's sake."

"He's got OCD," Liz whispered loudly.

Kid scowled. "It is NOT OCD to have high standards, and a love of the perfection of symmetry."

"Yeah, Kid, whatever you say," Liz said, winking at Harry and Crona.

"As long as we don't have to live near the loud ninja wannabe, I don't mind," Harry said.

"I don't know how to deal with loud people," Crona agreed. "I like it quiet."

"You dealt with Patty for a long time," Liz pointed out.

"Yeah!" cheered the other Thompson sister.

"You were our friends anyway," Crona said. She turned to Death. "If you don't mind, Lord D-Death, may we stay in your mansion? I w-would like to be with friends."

"No trouble at all! _Mi casa es tu casa_ , and all that! So, you agree to stay at the DWMA?"

Harry looked at Crona, before saying, "If you can overlook me being a Sorcerer, and Crona being the daughter of a Witch, not to mention helping out Angela and Mifune, then I will. But I'm not going to be caged again, and neither will she."

"Harry, I have no such intention at all. Better to make sure a Witch or Sorcerer is no threat through kindness, rather than have to kill them."

* * *

It took some persuading, but Mifune and Angela did eventually move from Demon Cinder Castle, though Mifune wasn't really enamoured with Death. Even so, the bodyguard, with some persuasion, accepted a job as a teacher at the DWMA, teaching combat techniques. Angela, meanwhile, was ecstatic to be reunited with her big brother and big sister, as well as getting some more siblings into the bargain, courtesy of the Thompson Sisters, Death the Kid, Maka and Soul. She hated Black Star still, and was a bit stand-offish towards the good-natured Tsubaki.

Harry and Crona didn't know it, though, but a pair of eyes had marked their arrival. A pair of golden, ophidian eyes that would have been very familiar to Crona…the eyes of Medusa Gorgon.

 **CHAPTER 3 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **So, Harry and Crona have joined the DWMA. And Medusa, despite the divergence from canon, has still managed to infiltrate the DWMA.**

 **So here's the link to** ** _Legacy of Kain_** **that you guys have probably seen coming. It's just one of those weird ideas that popped into my head. Kain and Raziel won't appear, though, in all likelihood. It's more to do with the backstory of Harry's Weapon form. Hope you liked it, regardless.**


	5. Chapter 4: Life at the DWMA

**CHAPTER 4:**

 **LIFE AT THE DWMA**

Living in the same household as Death the Kid wasn't too hard, once you got used to his tantrums and rants about symmetry. When he wasn't in the grip of such madness, he was a polite, erudite, and intelligent speaker. Harry and Crona got along well enough with him, and may well have anyway, even without their old friends being his Weapon partners.

Not only that, but they often had sparring sessions together. Death the Kid wasn't really fond of what he called their 'asymmetrical' fighting style, but he was impressed by their power and skill, no mean feat considering that Kid was very much a Reaper, and not actually human. They certainly gave him a better workout than Soul and Black Star did when Kid decided to join the Academy not long before Harry and Crona did. In fact, Harry and Crona used their most powerful Swords Dance style, One-Winged Angel, frequently against Kid.

Lord Death himself was a revelation. He was like a goofball father who was embarrassing to his brood, but a warm, cheerful, fun and friendly guy to anyone else, though those who annoyed him got prompt physical reprisals via a 'Reaper Chop'. Harry liked him, despite his earlier misgivings about Lord Death, and wished he had had Death as a guardian than the Dursleys, though they set the bar pretty low. Crona was still nervous around Lord Death, but she got used to it. In fact, she knew how to deal with Death far better than she knew how to deal with many other people she met.

Death had also told Harry some other interesting things. He knew a little of the events on the World of Exile, where Harry had been born, and told Harry that there was a hidden community of Sorcerers and Witches, albeit ones who, for the most part, didn't feel the Pull of Magic, probably because their magic was more diverse. Indeed, his parents had been magic users, but they had been murdered by a Sorcerer called Voldemort, who was a Kishin Egg, albeit a scrambled one (Death's words rather than Harry's). After all, Harry bore part of Voldemort's soul in his scar, a fragment Harry was glad Death removed after explaining the matter. Harry was famous on that world because he survived an instant death curse, though Death said that the reason why was that Harry's mother used a ritual that protected Harry.

Harry, to be frank, wasn't that sorry he wasn't there. He didn't want fame for something he didn't do. He'd prefer to get fame for things he did do, though he preferred to protect Crona, and those precious to him.

Speaking of Crona, she had a tendency to sit in the corner of their rooms, as she often did, though she at least put a chair into it. She enjoyed having walls at her back, though Harry, and everyone else, were worried about her calling her spot Mr Corner. Harry was used to it, admittedly, but it didn't stop him from worrying about his best friend. She had gained in confidence since they escaped from Medusa, but Crona was still skittish outside of battle, and was socially awkward in the same way that Black Star had a big ego. Medusa had left some pretty deep scars, and Ragnarok, while he had toned it down, was still fond of teasing and tormenting Crona.

On occasion, Harry and Crona visited Soul and Maka. Now that the initial friction of their first meeting had dissipated, and Soul had learned of Harry being a distant relation, they became friends. Maka, in particular, made an especial effort to reach out to the two of them, Crona in particular. Harry saw that Maka was drawing Crona even more out of her shell, despite the insults of Ragnarok. Soul drew the two of them in with his love of music, and while his attitude sometimes left something to be desired, he was nonetheless a decent guy in the end.

Of course, they also had to deal with Maka and Soul's strange roommate (of sorts), a young woman called Blair, who, at first glance, seemed to be a Witch, and a very flirtatious Witch at that. In fact, she was actually a cat with a lot of magical power, but preferred to spend time in a more human form, of a buxom, purple-haired young woman with golden eyes, frequently clad in a rather skimpy version of a stereotypical witch's outfit. That being said, Blair got along well enough with Crona and Harry.

And then, there was Black Star. Harry and Crona weren't fond of the wannabe ninja, but Tsubaki was another matter. The long-suffering Weapon was eminently likeable, more so than her partner, and Crona and Harry frequently talked to Tsubaki whenever Black Star was off doing something stupid.

The teachers were a mixed bag. While Sid the Zombie did intimidate Crona a little, he was easily the nicest of the teachers, and Harry and Crona warmed to him. Franken Stein was a competent and interesting teacher, true, but he also had this scary obsession with vivisection and dissection. The fact that he was one of the strongest Meisters the DWMA ever produced, more than capable of taking out a Witch without a Weapon to help him, only lent an edge to that fear. Spirit Albarn, however, had a very weird attitude, focusing his attention on the female students. Maka had confided to Harry and Crona that Spirit was her father, and that he had recently been divorced from her mother, who was currently engaged in work for the DWMA overseas. It was because Spirit was very much a lech, someone who gawked continually at women, and had engaged in more than one affair. He was protective of his daughter, but he still had a lecherous nature.

Some of the other class members looked at Harry and Crona with suspicion, considering that the former was a Sorcerer, and the latter had a demon weapon for blood. The shy girl's introverted nature didn't help, and neither did Ragnarok, who sometimes burst from Crona's back to offer some crude remark or other.

Mifune helped clear some of that one day, during one of his lessons in the training ground of the Academy. He asked Crona and Harry to come forward. As they did so, Mifune said, "I fought alongside these two many times, and I consider them to be more impressive than many of you. They may not look impressive, but a fundamental concept of combat, and indeed, life, is that appearances can often be deceiving. It is rare that any Meister can wield two Weapons simultaneously, and Crona's situation is hopefully unique to her, in that she has a demonic weapon within her very blood."

Harry changed into his Weapon form, and then, Ragnarok burst out of Crona's back, and then formed into his sword form. "The three of them," Mifune continued, "have developed attack styles depending on the situation, known as Swords Dances. Grand Cross and Dark Messenger, for example, are better for individual opponents, while Dancing Mad and The Extreme are meant for groups of adversaries. One-Winged Angel is a desperation style, equally suited to an army or a massively strong opponent. Crona, Harry, we'll have a sparring session. Dark Messenger style."

Crona and Harry agreed, and went through Dual Resonance, before they were ready to fight. Dark Messenger, despite its ominous title, was a rather flamboyant, theatrical style, compared to the harder-hitting, brutal and pragmatic Grand Cross. So it suitably wowed the audience of students as Harry, Crona, and Ragnarok sparred against Mifune. If Mifune went all-out, he would be able to defeat them, albeit with some effort. But this was meant more as a demonstration, as well as a friendly spar.

After a few minutes, the spar was halted. Harry and Crona returned to their seats, knowing they had impressed their fellow students. Black Star made some stupid announcement that they were upstaging him, but Harry and Crona ignored the rambunctious boy. Harry noticed Crona flinched whenever Black Star began yelling about some subject or other, usually about himself. He really felt sorry for the long-suffering Tsubaki. While technically they worked well together as a team, Tsubaki was the only person remotely tolerant of someone like Black Star.

It was thanks to Harry and Crona beginning to gain some credit within the DWMA that they made another friend, and managed to get things cleared up in the DWMA. Kim Diehl turned out to be a Witch herself, albeit with less destructive magic, and it was Harry and Crona's performance, as well as the presence of Angela, that had her outing herself. Although there was considerable division regarding her, most people accepted her status as a Witch. It also meant that she grew closer to one of the brainier members of the DWMA, Ox Ford.

They were witness to one of the most funny sights when Black Star and Death the Kid went to seek out the Holy Sword, Excalibur. Later, they came back with these bizarre expressions, like a mixture of extreme boredom, despair, and annoyance, like they had encountered some eldritch entity that was pure tedium.

As it turned out, that wasn't far off the mark, as Death the Kid would relate to his Weapons, Harry, and Crona later. Excalibur had an ego that made Black Star's look tame by comparison, and was only interested in talking about himself, as well as making ridiculous demands of any would-be wielders.

Their friendship with Maka came in handy when the time came for one of the key exams. While Harry and Crona didn't reach Maka's level in terms of the theory, the studious girl was certainly a decent enough teacher. Soul and Black Star, however, attempted to cheat, with amusing consequences. Poor Death the Kid, however, couldn't even start his exam due to his neuroses. Those three failed, miserably, though Harry and Crona consoled the young Reaper afterwards.

They heard some disturbing news, though. A pair of Witches were sensed in Death City shortly before said exam, only for one of them to die suddenly, and the other disappeared, presumably using Soul Protect to hide herself. When Maka and Soul, who lived nearby, came to it later, they only found the school doctor, Dr Megaera 'Meg' Dirae(1). Meg was certainly lusted after by many adults and more than a few students at the DWMA. But there was something about her that had Harry on edge. Like she seemed to look at him and Crona for just a touch too long whenever they had examinations and check-ups. Or that she seemed to want frequent blood samples from them. But she also seemed rather cheerful and nice, and Harry chalked his misgivings down to nerves and skittishness.

Rumours had also come about, according to Kid, from the Witches. Apparently not long ago, just after the Witches were sensed in Death City, there was a security breach at a prison the Witches kept their worst criminals in. Rumour had it that an infamous inmate, one who had supposedly stolen the eye of Witch leader Maba, had escaped, killing a number of guards in the process. Further details were scarce, admittedly, given the few lines of information the DWMA had into Witch society. Harry had never been part of it, and Crona had never attended a Witch's Mass before she fled Medusa. Kim had severed most ties with the Witches when she fled for the DWMA, though she still had one or two contacts there (which was where the rumours came from), while Angela hadn't attended a Witch's Mass since going into the custody of the DWMA. She didn't mind, as she didn't quite get what went on, and thought many of them scary.

Angela seemed to thrive in the DWMA, despite the fact that she was surrounded by people nominally raised to hunt Witches like her down. It was because there was no malice in her (save for pranks) that she endeared herself to so many. The fact that Mifune scared a lot of people who dared to make comment helped. Then again, she was also happy that she got many new 'big brothers' and 'big sisters' helped.

A few weeks after joining the DWMA, they finally got to go on their first official mission. Not solo by any means. Death the Kid was going to investigate a series of disasters in the Baltic Sea. A number of coastal towns had been attacked by some malevolent force, and while the young Reaper was confident that he could do so solo (well, solo meaning he could do so along with the Thompsons), both Kid and Lord Death himself agreed that this would make a good mission for Harry and Crona to come along for. A dangerous mission, but the pair had faced danger before.

Kid messed around with his usual fuss about keeping things symmetrical before they left. Once through a portal, for the rest of the way, Kid would use his jet skateboard, Beelzebub, while Harry and Crona would use Ragnarok, who could sprout wings. They would then hire a boat, one of the more discreet means of getting to the remote towns that had been attacked.

As it turned out, they were about to embark on a mission that would uncover a startling revelation about the DWMA…

 **CHAPTER 4 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **And there you have it: Harry and Crona settling into life at the DWMA, along with Mifune and Angela. Oh, and Kim's been outed ahead of schedule, and probably to better effect. Because Soul hasn't been infected with the Black Blood, Free hasn't been confronted yet, though Medusa has freed him to act as her minion. And, of course, Eruka and one of the Mizune sisters has confronted Medusa, with the same results as in canon.**

 **And yes, Meg Dirae is Medusa. Details later.**

 **It's probably pretty obvious, but the Swords Dances are named for the final boss battle themes from the** ** _Final Fantasy_** **games (** ** _Grand Cross_** **being the name given to the Neo-Exdeath battle theme from** ** _Final Fantasy V_** **when it was remixed by the Black Mages).**

 **1\. Dirae is the Roman name of the Furies/Erinyes, and Megaera is one of the names of said beings, meaning 'the grudging' or 'the jealous one'.**


	6. Chapter 5: Take a Ride on the Black

**CHAPTER 5:**

 **TAKE A RIDE ON THE BLACK DRAGON**

Death the Kid, Harry, and Crona poked and peered through books, while Liz had Patty looking through some children's books (Patty being illiterate, as well as more than a little childish). They had recently arrived at one of the devastated villages (bites seemingly taken out of the very coastline itself), only to find the survivors babbling about 'the Black Dragon'. They went to the library of the village, hoping to do some on-site research.

"What are we looking for, exactly?" Harry asked.

"Local legends and the like," Death the Kid said. "I have my suspicions, but they're not concrete."

"What could have taken a bite out of the coast like that?" Crona asked as her pale blue eyes flickered over the pages of her assigned book. "I don't know how to deal with something like that. Is it a real dragon?"

"In all likelihood, it's probably an appellation," Kid said. "A name given out of fear. Its power is frightening enough, though. And whatever it is, it's killing off dozens, if not hundreds of people. That alone makes it a necessity for the DWMA to investigate."

Crona shivered, before her eyes caught something on the page she was looking at. "Kid…I think I've found it. The Black Dragon…Nidhogg."

"Let me see," Kid said, taking the book gently from Crona's hands. He peered at the page critically, before he closed the book shut with a loud noise, an action that spoke of decisiveness. "Yes. Yes, I believe you've found it, Crona. Well done."

Crona smiled, a little weakly. She was still unused to praise, but she was getting there.

* * *

Liz, Patty, and Ragnarok (currently extruded from Crona's back) were rowing the boat. Death the Kid stood upon the bow of the rowboat like a figurehead, dressed in his cloak and with a mask that made him look like his father, while Harry and Crona kept lookout.

It was decided that a rowboat would be needed for the actual location of their quarry. Liz and Ragnarok griped about their doing the rowing, but Patty enjoyed herself. If the boat proved to sink or be unusable, then they would have to use Kid's flying skateboard Beelzebub (in the case of Kid and the Thompsons) and Ragnarok's wings (in the case of Crona and Harry).

"For centuries," Kid said, removing his mask, "this area has been a popular route for ships. And many ships have sunk, and not just because of the high traffic."

Just as Liz began to worry, a thick mist began to descend on the area, and Kid sensed the presence of multiple souls nearby. So too did Crona and Harry. And then, a vast shape loomed out of the fog.

It looked like an old-fashioned sailing ship, decrepit and looking as if it was barely sea-worthy. Bulging eyes flanked a grotesque, mouth-like opening at the bow. Its name was on the side: _Nidhogg_. "A ghost ship," whimpered Liz.

Crona began to shiver, and Harry put a comforting hand on his Meister's bony shoulder. While no longer mistreated by Medusa, Crona still was quite thin. And given how she had breasts smaller than Maka's, and wore androgynous clothing, it was little wonder she was still often confused for a boy. She was still a bundle of nerves and neuroses, with body image being only part of it. "It's okay, Crona. We have two of the strongest teams of the DWMA here."

"Really? Where?" Crona whimpered.

"Us!" Harry hissed.

"Oh. Us. Right…" Crona said, uncertainly. The poor girl, as mentioned, still had issues, and self-esteem and confidence were amongst them. She then said to Kid, "What do we do?"

"There are numerous souls on that ship, souls that had no right to be harvested. We board the ship, send the souls onwards to their final destination, and find whoever's behind it. I suspect a Kishin Egg behind this."

"We are NOT boarding a ghost ship!" Liz protested loudly. "Are you crazy?"

Promptly, Patty proved that she was by rowing the boat as hard as she could, Ragnarok helping, until they crashed into the side. Kid, upset, told them to hit the middle to do more damage. Which they did, ploughing into the stern.

"They're crazy," a dazed Liz whimpered as Harry and Crona carried her onto the ship, following Kid and Patty.

"You don't have to be crazy to work at the DWMA, but it helps," Harry said cheerfully.

* * *

The ship was admittedly more spooky once they had boarded it. Harry kept an arm around Crona's shoulders once they were walking its dank corridors, Ragnarok having receded back into her body. "It's okay," Harry murmured comfortingly. "We're a team."

Crona nodded, leaning into Harry a bit more. In combat, she was confident enough, a force of nature fuelled by the Black Blood, as well as Resonance with Harry and Ragnarok. All looking serene. But outside of battle…

"We're a team," she said, quietly, to herself, over and over, a mantra to stave off fear and madness.

Harry knew she needed that reassurance. She once said, rather disturbingly, that Hell existed, and she had pointed to her own head to indicate where it was. Her formative years with Medusa hadn't been the best. Only the assurance that her friendship with Harry could never be broken kept her sane. They had argued and bickered before, true, but that was normal. Hell, Harry was probably the only person Crona ever actually felt comfortable arguing with.

Soul and Blair had both teased them, saying they made a cute couple. And while Harry didn't object to the thought of Crona being his girlfriend, their relationship was somewhat different, perhaps deeper than mere romance. Besides, they were only thirteen, anyway. It was enough being friends.

They soon came across a cargo hold, filled with the blue glow of souls. Harry and Crona stared in horror at the sheer number of souls. "This ship…or whoever is in charge of it, they killed this many people?" Harry murmured in disgust.

"Indeed," Kid said, disgust tingeing his own voice. "Harvesting them for their own ends, no doubt. I'll send them onwards to where they should be."

Even as he reached out to do so, though Kid found a massive gun barrel in his face. He dodged to the side even as the gun fired. Harry stared at the apparition half-emerged from the floor. Dressed as an old-fashioned sailor, and a parody of a human being, he was clearly a far-gone Kishin Egg. "What have we here, eh? A Reaper, a Meister, and a trio of Weapons poking their noses where it don't belong! These souls are not your to trifle with, brats!"

"Liz, Patty…" Kid began, but before he could continue, the apparition grinned.

"NIDHOGG!" he howled. The very ship began to tremble, and suddenly, the timbers opened up beneath Liz and Crona, and they dropped instantly with yelps of surprise.

"This ship is my body, and my body is the ship!" the apparition grinned. "I am the Flying Dutchman, and I am the last thing you will trifle with! Those two will be digested very handily within the depths of my ship."

"I think Crona will give you indigestion," Harry snarked. "Unless you like Black Blood."

Kid nodded. "And they are stronger than you think, Dutchman. What do you want to do with these souls?"

"I'm gonna present them to the Kishin! I'm sure to be well-rewarded!"

"Kishin? I was unaware that there was a mature Kishin in existence," Kid said.

"Which goes to show how little you know, Reaper Boy! There's a Kishin very close to you, and in more ways than one!" He shot at them again. "Now die!"

Patty hissed at Death, "I'll transform, and help you out against this guy."

"No…you can't…" Kid murmured.

Harry facepalmed. "Right, the whole symmetry thing of dual-wielding. Patty, do you have any objection to me trying to wield you?"

"Nope!" she said, transforming into a gun that flew into his hands. She felt unwieldy, but at least her soul was moderately compatible. He fired Patty at the Dutchman, who sneered, despite the hole in his chest.

"Nice try, but I'm immortal as long as this ship stands!"

"Retreat!" Kid snapped. And as the Dutchman's next shot blew out the door, they were able to do so…

* * *

"Sorry about my friend," Crona said to the ghost of the little girl. "I mean, I don't know how to deal with ghosts, but she's absolutely terrified of them."

The girl emitted a sigh, too old-sounding and too long-suffering for one like her. "It's okay. She's a scaredy cat."

Crona and Liz had ended up in the bowels of the ship, freaking out somewhat that they had been dumped into it. They were walking through the corridors when they encountered the ghost of this girl. Liz, of course, immediately freaked out. Crona, though separated from Harry, drew strength from her conviction that they would be reunited. The fact that if the ghost girl turned out to be malevolent (not that she could sense any such intent), she could let Ragnarok eat her, helped bolster this.

"So…you're a ghost, right?" Crona asked. "And so young too. Must be…disheartening."

The girl nodded, jabbing a thumb at the whimpering Liz. "I wish I could've grown up to get a hot body like hers. So, you two are from the DWMA?"

"Yes. We came with my second Weapon, Harry, as well as Lord Death's son and Liz's twin sister." Oddly enough, she felt comfortable talking to the ghost girl. "We came here to investigate the _Nidhogg_ 's attacks."

"…Better late than never," the ghost girl remarked.

They soon found other ghosts, who showed them the way to a ladder leading them out. They finally ended up on the deck. "Where the hell are the others?!" Liz yelped. "You tricked us!"

"Is she always like this?" the ghost girl asked.

"No. You'd be surprised, but she was once the scariest hoodlum in Brooklyn. She just fears ghosts," Crona said.

"Hey, shut up!" Liz snarled. "She promised to take us to where our friends are, and…"

There was an explosion, and Kid and Harry, with the latter holding onto Patty's Weapon form, burst from a door. Harry and Kid soon saw them. "Liz, hurry! Transform! We're in a tight spot!" Harry yelled, tossing Patty over to Kid. Liz, without any further prompting, transformed, and Harry transformed himself.

"No matter what you do," the Dutchman taunted as he emerged, "you can't do a thing! This ship is my body and my body is the ship!"

Kid looked at Crona. "I think it is time to prove him otherwise. A field test, perhaps?"

Crona got what he meant instantly, and nodded. Ragnarok burst out without any further ado, transforming into his sword form. The two Meisters then rose into the air. "Execution Mode activated," Kid intoned.

"Harry, Ragnarok…Dual Resonance," Crona murmured.

Kid rose above Crona as his soul began to expand, blue energy purling around him. Crona's soul, fuchsia in colour, began expanding even as she screamed to enhance Ragnarok's Scream Resonance at the same time as she Resonated with Harry's soul.

The Dutchman swore, and aimed the cannons of the _Nidhogg_ at them. But even as he did so, the voices of two Meisters and four Weapons rang out in unison. " _COMBINATION ATTACK: SCREECH CANNON THETA(_ _1)_ _!_ "

Kid fired at the same time as Crona swung her swords, the energy of the two attacks combining into a single energy blast that smashed into the _Nidhogg_. For half a second, nothing seemed to happen, before a pillar of energy, in the shape of a screaming face, blasted into the sky, smoke in the shape of skulls blasting outwards at the same time. The ship was shattered into splinters and sawdust.

The two Meisters and their Weapons discussed the possibility of a combination attack to inflict massive damage on a powerful opponent. They had tested this combination in the training grounds, and found it frighteningly effective. It was rare for two Meisters to be able to combine attacks in such a manner, but Kid and Crona, and their Weapons, had managed it.

Kid summoned Beelzebub, and Ragnarok extruded his wings from Crona's back. They gently descended, to find the souls of those consumed by the _Nidhogg_ floating around. And there was the soul of the Dutchman himself, a crimson colour amongst the blue-hued souls.

" _Overkill, much?_ " Liz asked.

"It lacked finesse, true, but against such a foe, there is perhaps no such thing as overkill. You take the Dutchman's soul, Harry," Kid said. "I'll send these others on to where they need to go."

Harry did so, extruding part of his body from the blade and eating the crimson soul. As he swallowed it, he said, "Kid, what do you think he meant? About the Kishin being close to us, and in more ways than one?"

"I don't know. But I'd be willing to bet that my father does know."

The ghost girl appeared briefly. "Goodbye, Crona. Goodbye, Scaredy-Cat Lady." Then, she faded.

* * *

When they finally got back to the DWMA (their boat had drifted away when the _Nidhogg_ became active, so they had to fly back to a portal), Kid dismissed Liz and Patty, but kept Harry and Crona with him. They immediately went to Death's chambers, and found him, as usual, enthusiastic in his greetings. Until Kid held up a hand.

"Father…the evil being we confronted was a servant of a Kishin…a Kishin he claimed was really close to us, and in more ways than one. And I don't think he was being at all metaphorical. I need to know…what did he mean?"

Harry saw Death's shoulders slump. Clearly, this wasn't a subject he was happy to talk about. But Lord Death rallied himself, and began to tell a horrific tale of the past…

 **CHAPTER 5 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **There you have it. The encounter with the Nidhogg, and, instead of canon, where Kid and Crona fight, we have Kid and Crona, along with their Weapons,** ** _annihilating_** **the** ** _Nidhogg_** **. I loved that sequence in the anime, actually, where Crona and Kid face off. Not only was it a match between two powerhouses, but I loved Crona's lines just before unleashing Screech Alpha (I love Maxey Whitehead as Crona: I don't care what anyone thinks of the English dub), delivered in such an eerily serene tone. "I hate, hate,** ** _hate everyone_** **. But that's okay: I can use my screams to blow them all away. I bet dead people are a lot easier to get along with."**

 **And if you think that their combination attack was overpowered, keep in mind that Kid and Crona are easily amongst the most powerful characters in the series. Screech Alpha, albeit powered by the souls of those on the** ** _Nidhogg_** **, was capable of sinking the ship. Imagine if Crona and Kid combined forces.**

 **BTW, Crona's eye colour seems to vary between black and very pale blue in the anime, so I've gone with pale blue.**

 **I'm frankly astonished at how swiftly this fic has become popular, even though I only posted it (and admittedly the first four chapters) very recently. 2.5K views, 55 favourites and 2 communities. Damn.**

 **Review-answering time!** **Sakura Lisel** **: A flame-bladed sword is not literally wreathed in flames. It has a wavy blade. And the Dursleys, who keep calling Harry a delinquent, would probably have been able to claim that he used a knife on Petunia or something. They're idiots, but they would be determined to get Harry into trouble.**

 **Lupine Horror** **: I didn't know that was the reason for the wavy blade. Then again, I looked the term up for this on Wikipedia, and they had it right there in the article, which I missed like an imbecile. So yeah.**

 **diagonalpumpkin** **: Crona's personality is still not unlike that in** ** _Soul Eater_** **canon, in that she is timid and socially inept at times (she still says 'I don't know how to deal with X'), but she's also far braver in battle, and coming out of her shell gradually. I love the scene where she names the corner of the room (though I prefer the anime's more pragmatic translation of Mr Corner to the manga's translation 'Roomsky Kornerkov', which is a joke few people would get, I'm sure, as it was a pun on some composer). In this version of events, her poetry is no longer a weapon of mass depression.**

 **It's also worth pointing out that, when the technique** ** _The Soul Reaver_** **is used, it's like how the weapon is used in the very first game in the series,** ** _Blood Omen: Legacy of Kain_** **. It drains your magic power, but it basically makes enemies explode into chunks. I love how Simon Templeman says in that game, 'the Soul Reaver', hence why I call the move** ** _The Soul Reaver_** **rather than** ** _Soul Reaver_** **. I have no plans to bring in Excalibur in person. And I'm glad you like the nomenclature of the Swords Dances styles.**

 **1\. This is a combination of Kid's special move Death Cannon, and Crona's Screech attacks. As with the other Screech attacks, this one has a Greek letter. But choosing Theta is no accident. Because it is the first (Greek) letter in the name of the Greek god of death, Thanatos, it has an association with death for both the Greeks and the Romans. Gladiators killed in the arena during a match had a 'Theta' appended to their name, for example.**


	7. Chapter 6: Medusa Makes Her Move

**CHAPTER 6:**

 **MEDUSA MAKES HER MOVE**

"You know that before I formed the DWMA, I had a group of warriors to fight against Witches and forces of evil known as the Eight Warlords," Death began.

Kid nodded. "I have heard of that. I don't know the full details, though. What does this have to do with the Kishin?"

"I am getting to that, Kid, so please, be patient." Death sighed, before moving on. "The story of the Kishin you are worried about begins with one of the earliest Weapon and Meister partnerships. The Weapon was known as Vajra, and the Meister…was known as Asura. Asura was a powerful warrior, to be sure, the strongest of our group, but he seemed often gripped by some fear or other. A symptom of this was that he wrapped himself in many layers of clothing, covering every inch of his body. His fears and anxieties led to him desiring more and more power. He began feeding Vajra souls that were innocent, before finally consuming Vajra himself."

"That's sick," Harry muttered.

"How did you stop him, Lord Death?" Crona asked.

"I tore off his skin, drained him of his blood, and used the skin to create a bag to restrain him." Upon seeing their winces, Death said, "Asura isn't exactly human. He wasn't even before he became a Kishin. One has to wonder why he was so afraid, as he was more or less immortal. As a further measure to prevent him from breaking free, I anchored my soul to this city. This is one of the reasons why the DWMA was established: I cannot attend to any problems outside the city limits, and thus the limits of my own soul." Death moved forward to Crona, and gently put one of his oversized hands on her shoulder. "I have every reason to believe that, if Harry hadn't appeared when he did, your mother intended to try and turn you into a Kishin. What little we recovered of her research notes suggested this. She intended to have you use Ragnarok to harvest souls indiscriminately to power the Black Blood within you. _But_ , and this is a very important but, Crona, you are not a Kishin, nor are you anything like one. Your blood may be black, but your soul is not. She either considered that, or else harvesting your blood and intending to use that to revive Asura."

"I…don't know how to deal with that," Crona said. "And there's no guarantee that she's dead, is there?"

"Sadly, no. You didn't use the Soul Reaver technique on her, and we found no trace of her body. It is possible she destroyed her own soul to prevent us from consuming it, but she may also have survived in some way. The Gorgons were always tenacious: lately, I have had doubts about Medusa's eldest sister, the Heretic Witch Arachne."

* * *

( _A spider crawling around the guillotine-like archways leading to Death's area all but crapped itself when it heard those words_ …)

* * *

"In any case, it is good that you stopped the Dutchman and his vessel. By the way, congratulations, Harry. You've collected 99 Kishin Egg souls now. All you need is the Witch soul, and you will become a Death Scythe."

"You what?" Harry blinked. Had he actually consumed that many souls?

"…You mean you've never kept count?" Kid asked, disbelievingly.

"We didn't exactly keep a notebook with a tally. And most of those were when we were helping Mifune protect Angela," Harry said. "Besides, Ragnarok's eaten more than a few."

"He's not far from becoming a Death Scythe anyway."

Death the Kid looked a little annoyed. "You know, Father, it's only because of that mess with the Temple of Anubis that Liz and Patty haven't achieved that level. And if I recall, Soul also very nearly became a new Death Scythe: only their misidentification of Blair stopped this."

"Well, the unexpected can often happen. The 800th Anniversary Celebration Night will be on soon, anyway. So let's make it a good one!"

* * *

The Anniversary Celebration Night, the marking of the founding of the DWMA, came sooner than Harry and Crona thought. Harry dressed in a normal suit, while Crona dressed in a white Nehru jacket and dark trousers. Harry had yet to be able to get her to wear anything really feminine, even though they had been away from her mother for years. Crona even seemed uncomfortable with being thought of as any gender, save for by Harry.

Mifune was there, as was Angela. Even Blair had been invited, and had come dressed surprisingly formally, in a slinky cocktail dress. She was flirting with Spirit, much to the chagrin of Maka.

Soon after Death's rather brief and awkward greeting, and Kid's disastrous attempt at a longer speech (really, Black Star really knew how to push people's buttons), Crona and Harry first got a bit of food, and then, after eating it, decided to do some dancing. Normally, Crona wouldn't bother, but she had heard that dancing helped Soul Wavelengths of Weapon and Meister match. And while she and Harry needed little help to attain an excellent state, she wanted to improve, continually, taking Kid's advice, to strengthen her soul to become truly stronger, to heart.

They had practised on occasion, and now, the Meister and the Weapon began a waltz. "We've come a long way, haven't we?" Harry asked quietly as they danced. "I mean, not long ago, you'd have said that you wouldn't know how to deal with this."

Crona smiled softly. "I…I still don't," she confessed. "But I take my strength from you, Harry."

"And I from you, Crona," Harry said. "You're stronger than you think. I mean, from what Liz told me, you were far better at dealing with the ghosts on the _Nidhogg_. And in concert with Kid, Liz, Patty, and Ragnarok, we destroyed the _Nidhogg_. Crona, I don't know what I could have done without meeting you in my dreams. My aunt and uncle and cousin were nowhere near as bad as Medusa, but they still treated me like a slave. And what's more, I was dumped off there, despite the fact that I was famous amongst the magic users of that world. Okay, for something I didn't really do, but even so…it felt like nobody cared except you, Crona. There are many kinds of strength, I think, and caring about someone is one of them." Harry blinked. "Did I sound like some sort of cheesy self-help book there?"

Crona giggled softly. "I don't mind. Are you saying that, because I care about you, and others, that I am strong?"

"And you're willing to defend them from those who would do them harm," Harry said quietly. "We both are."

Any further conversation, however, was silenced as they drifted near Stein and Dirae, and caught a snatch of their conversation. "…you up to, Medusa?"

"Oh, giving the world a little push out of the stasis it has languished in, thanks to Lord Death…"

Harry and Crona stiffened, and as they danced, they found themselves looking at Stein and Dirae. They realised that her eyes had now become like Medusa's, yellow and ophidian. They danced away from them, but the eyes of the Witch met the terrified eyes of Weapon and Meister, and she flashed them a vicious smirk.

"It's _her_ ," Crona hissed urgently, her eyes wide. "It's Mother!"

"Crona, calm down," Harry hissed back at her. "Stein knows who she is. He's got it under control. We just need to be ready to act at a moment's notice…"

"But the others…"

Harry looked around, before seeing Soul and Maka talking outside. "Let's go out, okay?"

* * *

Maka and Soul were astonished to learn that Medusa was here, and in the guise of Dr Meg Dirae. "But we've got to warn Lord Death, and…" Maka began to protest, before the doors to the hall slammed open, and Sid, looking injured, staggered through. Harry and Crona would later learn that the zombie had gone to investigate Dr Dirae on Stein's orders, only to fall into a trap.

Sid's appearance was all the spur Medusa needed to run out of the same balcony the two Meisters and their Weapons were. As Medusa leapt onto one of her Snakes, she sneered at Crona. "You could have had the privilege of becoming the force that drives change in the world! You could have been a Kishin! As it is, I'm sure the First Kishin, Asura, will appreciate my gift of your Black Blood that I harvested and cloned! And you can suffer the same fate as this rotten institution!"

"After her!" Harry yelled, transforming. Crona, despite Medusa's jibe, needed little further incentive to extrude Ragnarok's wings from her back. After Soul transformed, Maka grabbed onto Crona's hand, and Crona soon flew after Medusa. Blair and Spirit followed, perched on one of her pumpkins (Spirit would later admit he was chasing after Medusa because of her looks).

Hanging in the air near the Academy were seven figures, four of whom were identical. The identical ones wore strange, cylindrical striped dresses and hats like mice, and all appeared to be girls, or diminutive young women, with pink hair and vaguely murine features. A burly man in a striped jumpsuit, reminiscent of prison garb, was present, as was a young woman with a polka dot dress and a hat with a frog's face.

Harry remembered this last one. They had met but briefly between their time with the Thompsons, and their joining Mifune. Eruka Frog, one of the more timid Witches, and certainly less of a threat than most. Perhaps Medusa had bullied her into working with them.

They seemed to do some high-level spell that began to form a green cube of energy around the Academy. The Meisters and Weapons, along with Blair and Spirit, managed to make it out before the cube was made solid, and locked.

Blair stared at the cube behind them. "That's an Independent Cube! That's high-level Spatial Magic! It cuts off a limited area within another dimension for a certain period of time."

"Then we're on our own," Maka declared. "We'll need to stop them! Come on, after them!"

* * *

They followed the six Witches and their helper (Harry and Maka noting, to their disgust, that Spirit was enjoying his intimate proximity with Blair), until they reached the catacombs underneath the city. They followed them through the catacombs, but halted briefly. "Should we wait for anyone else?" Maka asked.

"I don't think anyone's coming," Blair mused, serious for the first time since Harry and Crona met the mage-cat. "The Independent Cube, like I said, isolates the target in another dimension for a period. It takes a lot of magic power, as well as calculation spells. The standard time, I think, is about an hour."

"That's more than enough time for them to go through with their plan," came a nasal voice from behind them. It was the very familiar voice of Franken Stein, and when they whirled, they found Stein, Kid, Liz, Patty, Black Star and Tsubaki there.

"How did you escape the Independent Cube in time?" Blair asked curiously.

"Sid used his Forced Burial technique to drive us underground quickly. Unfortunately, we were the only ones he could send. That being said, we'll be grateful for your help in stopping the Kishin, Blair."

"Oh, I'm doing this for myself. If this Kishin awakens, my favourite fishmonger will die," Blair said with a smile. "But what's a Kishin doing under the DWMA?"

"We'll explain on the way. But know this: we're heading into the danger zone. Most of you are kids, trained and seasoned, true, but I'm worried about you going up against Medusa and her cronies. And if the Kishin awakens, then that's even more danger right there. If you wish to back out, I won't think any less of you."

In answer, the Meisters and Weapons all changed into their battle clothes, and the Weapons transformed.

"I'll take that as a no, then," Stein remarked dryly.

* * *

As they made their way through the catacombs, Stein related the same story Kid, Crona, and Harry had heard from Lord Death. "Why didn't we learn this sooner?" Maka asked.

"Yeah, it seems like an important bit of info to leave out. Like we have the first Kishin trapped beneath the DWMA by Lord Death's soul," Soul remarked acidly.

"Most of the senior Meisters and Weapons know this," Stein said. "Presumably Medusa had her own sources, as it isn't common knowledge outside the DWMA. She intends to use the Black Blood harvested from Crona to revive the Kishin. She managed to find a way to replicate it using the small samples she obtained as the school doctor."

"We have at least seven foes," Blair said. "Medusa, a quintet of Witches, and a big burly guy. Smelt rather like a wolf."

"That may be the infamous Wolfman. There were rumours he was broken out of the Witches' jail recently. He's been in there for two centuries for stealing the eye of Maba," Stein said. "I'd wager Medusa would be our first obstacle, given her power. I'll distract her along with Spirit. You are to get ahead of her and catch up with the others. At all costs, stop them from awakening Asura."

They came to a long, narrow, dank corridor with a high ceiling. And waiting for them there, now dressed in her habitual black hooded bodysuit, was Medusa. She grinned, Vector Arrows writhing around her like snakes. "Well, isn't this a heartwarming family reunion?" she asked sardonically, looking at Crona. "You could have been so much more than Death's little lackey, Crona. You could have been a magnificent Kishin."

Crona looked her mother square in the eye, but even as she shivered in fear, she said, "I'm not sure I'd know how to deal with being a Kishin. But I know how to deal with your plan." To emphasise the point, Harry transformed, as did the other Weapons.

Medusa scoffed, before chanting " _Nake, Snake, Cobra, Cobbra_." As the Vector Arrows began to ready themselves, they began darting forward.

Kid on Beelzebub and Black Star, using something called the Uncanny Sword mode, managed to evade the Vector Arrows easily and pass by them. Blair, Maka, and Crona were another matter, gripping onto each other even as the Arrows zagged towards them. As the vicious jet-black arrows raced towards them, Harry (metaphorically) closed his eyes, wished to be anywhere else but here…

* * *

…and suddenly, the two Meisters, their Weapons, and Blair were elsewhere. The faint echoes of a gunshot-like crack faded away.

"Where are we?" Blair asked.

Maka frowned, before she turned to the corridor behind them. "I sense two souls, one of a Witch, and the other of…something. I don't know how, but we may have gotten ahead of our quarry."

" _I think that was me_ ," Harry said, his voice flanging as he spoke out loud in his Weapon form. " _I wanted to be anywhere but near Medusa. Lord Death told me once that Witches and Sorcerers of the World of Exile had an innate ability to teleport. Maybe that's what I did._ "

"Works for me," Blair said with a shrug.

Maka's theory that they had managed to get ahead of their quarry proved to be correct. Eruka Frog ran through, a massive syringe filled with a black, oily substance, followed by a big, hulking man in prison garb, and with one of his eyes having an arcane symbol.

"Eep! Crona! Harry!" Eruka yelped. "Umm…" Her eyes flickered between the others. "This is…kind of awkward."

" _Well, of course it is_ ," Harry retorted. " _I mean, you're trying to revive Asura._ "

"Why are you doing this, Eruka? Do you really want to see the Kishin released?" Maka asked.

"N-n-no, it's just that M-M-Medusa…she p-p-put snakes in me."

" _Crona_ ," Harry spoke to her alone through their link. " _We need to get that syringe off her and destroy it. Let's try Vacuum Wave._ "

Crona nodded. Vacuum Wave was a technique they developed for their Grand Cross style. It created, for a brief instant, a vacuum in front of the target. It was a means of drawing a target closer in order to engage in combat better. If they did it right, they could rip the syringe out of Eruka's hands, and then destroy it, thus ensuring that their plan to awaken the Kishin wouldn't succeed.

"Hey, Eruka, how do you know these two, anyway?" the hulking man, presumably the infamous Wolfman, asked.

"Well, it's a long s-s-story, Free…" Eruka began, but that's when Crona acted, swinging Harry in just the right way to activate the Vacuum Wave.

And that's when things went horribly, horribly wrong. The first thing was that Eruka held on tight to the syringe as it yanked forward. The second thing was that Free, the Wolfman, grabbed onto her. The third thing that happened was that Eruka, brought to a stop by Free's timely intervention, accidentally let go of the syringe. The fourth thing was that Crona had underestimated her power from the move, and was thus surprised when the syringe impaled her. And the final thing was that the plunger pushed down, flooding Crona's body with Black Blood.

" _Oh,_ _ **shit**_ ," Harry muttered.

"Crona?" Maka asked, almost fearfully, only to be answered by a soft chuckle from the pink-haired girl.

Crona gently removed the syringe from her stomach, before violently flinging it into the wall, where it stuck, quivering like a dart or an arrow with a twanging noise that would have been humorous under other circumstances. As she straightened up, swaying slightly, Maka, Soul, Blair, Free and Eruka stared in horror at her face. Harry didn't need to: connected to her soul as he was, he knew what was happening to her.

Crona's mouth was now in a lop-sided grin that seemed to be more of a forced rictus than any expression of good cheer. One of her eyes, horrifically, was inky black instead of her usual pale blue. And as they watched, the pale blue of her other eye seemed to get consumed by the blackness, twitching as it did so.

"Hey…" she said in a tone that was deceptively conversational and calm, but belied the madness roiling within. "Did you know something? My blood…it's black, you know."

 **CHAPTER 6 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **Holy shit, what a cliffhanger. They may have scuppered the awakening of Asura, but Crona's just received an overdose of the Black Blood, and has just gone do-lally.**

 **Review-answering time!** **Hikari Nova** **: It's how I planned it. I'm going to wrap up the** ** _Soul Eater_** **storyline in the next chapter, and start the more Harry Potter-related elements in the chapter after that.**

 **No numbered annotations this time.**


	8. Chapter 7: In the Mouth of Madness

**CHAPTER 7:**

 **IN THE MOUTH OF MADNESS**

Of those present, it was Blair who had the clearest idea of what to do. "Hey, Crona? Your mother gave you a present: that Wolfman guy. He's your new pet."

"Yay!" Crona cheered in a childish, joyful voice. She then wrapped her arms around Free's neck in what should have been a loving embrace…but was basically her throttling the ever-loving crap out of the immortal Wolfman. She then sniffed. "Woo! You need a bath, Wolfie!"

"Piss off!" Free snarled, picking Crona off and flinging her away.

She landed, feet first, on the wall, and stayed there for a moment, as if standing on a wall was the most natural thing in the world. She then pouted. "Bad Wolfie! I'll have you neutered so that you aren't so naughty!" She then lunged at him.

Maka looked at Blair. "How do we stop her? She's gone insane!"

"It must be the Black Blood," Eruka said, watching as Crona and Free fought. "Medusa said that she had harvested it from Crona…but I think Crona's overdosed."

" _Why isn't Harry doing anything?!_ " Soul demanded.

Maka blinked. Her ability to perceive souls was something useful here, and she concentrated on Crona and Harry's souls. After a moment, she said, "Who said he isn't?"

* * *

Within Crona's soul, there was once a desert, as dry and hot as a desert could be. Over time, Harry helped Crona turn this desert into a small garden. Not a particularly big or extravagant one, but one that was well-loved and tended.

Now, though, her soul was an ocean of darkness, whipped up by the fury of a storm. Giggling and chuckling was mixed in with the sound of thunder.

Struggling to stay above the water was a pink-haired girl, in danger of drowning beneath the obsidian tide. Rowing a boat into that tempest was a dark-haired boy. "Hang on, Crona, I'm coming for you!" he yelled.

* * *

Spirit was torn. He had chased after Medusa partly because of her looks, but partly because, well, any lady fleeing a party had probably been dumped. And it was a good chance to play the knight in shining armour, give her a shoulder to cry on, and hope that one thing led to another.

But now, after hearing her speak about her daughter in such contemptuous tones, not even calling Crona 'her' but 'it', well, it infuriated him, and despite his protective attitude and discouraging nature towards any potential suitors for Maka, he was actually quite slow to anger. He wanted to make Medusa pay for that attitude. He was nowhere near the perfect parent, he'd be the first to admit, but he tried to do as much as he could for Maka.

Suddenly, it hit him, Stein, and Medusa like a tsunami. A feeling of foreboding. Stein and Medusa knew what had happened. "Oh no…" Stein murmured.

"Meddlesome, useless little tool…" Medusa snarled. "Crona must have taken a massive overdose of the Black Blood."

"That madness…it's flooding her soul…" Stein whispered in horror. "She's in danger of becoming a Kishin if this goes on."

"So much the better. About time that ungrateful little tool was some use," Medusa sneered contemptuously. "You let the cuckoo into your nest, Stein. Now your other chicks are going bye-bye. Now, let's continue where we left off, shall we?"

* * *

With an undignified yelp, Free was sent rolling down the corridor back the way he came. "Heel, Wolfie!" Crona called. After a moment's pause, she repeated, "Heel!"

There was no answer. Eventually, Crona turned around, and then, froze upon seeing Eruka. " ** _You,_** " she growled in a very dangerous tone. Crona had never actually growled before. And everyone present were staring in horror at the venom in the girl's eyes…

* * *

The pink-haired girl was spluttering and gasping as she struggled to keep her head above the black tide. The boy in the boat reached down to try and pull her into the boat. Instead, he was inadvertently pulled overboard, into the black ocean…

* * *

"M-m-me?" Eruka asked, quaking.

"I smell Mother in you," Crona hissed. She readied the Soul Reaver blade. "I **_hate_** her. Hate, hate, **hate** her."

* * *

 _Crona! It's all right! I know it's scary. I know it's easy to just succumb to the madness. Everyone needs a bit of madness in their life!_

* * *

With a banshee scream, Crona sped towards Eruka, who was frozen to the spot. Suddenly, she was thrown back by a Pumpkin Bomb summoned by Blair. Crona dodged the next fusillade of them, and began speeding towards Eruka again…

* * *

 _It's so easy to just give in, isn't it? But since when were we about doing things the easy way? Running away from Medusa? Following the path of a Meister and their Weapon, and not that of a Kishin? Helping out the Thompson Sisters, as well as Mifune and Angela? Or joining the DWMA?_

* * *

Maka darted out in front of Crona, only to be shoved aside by the crazed girl. "SHE MUST DIE!" she screamed.

* * *

 _But we kept each other sane, didn't we? Me in my cupboard, and you in your cell. We survived those places with our sanity intact. You know how to deal with more things than you think, and you know how to deal with this madness! The Black Blood has been part of you since Medusa put Ragnarok into you! But you haven't devolved into madness yet! And you won't start now! I believe in you, Crona! Don't do anything that will drive you over the edge into further madness!_

 _Trust me._

 _And stop._

 _And let me pull you out of the madness._

* * *

Crona halted, her blade a mere inch from Eruka's waist. They locked eyes, the Frog Witch and the Meister. Then, Crona began screaming in pain. Her eyes were squeezed shut in absolute agony.

When she opened them again, they were pale blue once more.

Eruka allowed herself to breathe a sigh of relief, before suddenly, Crona slammed a hand onto her chest.

In a dead, too-calm tone, Crona said, "The Extreme: Shockwave Pulsar."

Eruka began convulsing, screaming in agony, reminding Maka and Soul of when Black Star was attacked by Franken Stein during their remedial lesson. A Soul Wavelength attack that appeared to kill the loud ninja, though it actually rendered him unconscious. "Crona, stop!" Maka screamed.

"I've got to kill her," Crona said in that dead tone. "I've got to kill Mother."

Suddenly, before Maka could stop Crona, the attack ceased. Eruka collapsed to her hands and knees, and vomited up something black and vile. For a moment, Maka, Soul, and Blair thought that Crona had done something terminal to Eruka. Free, who had recovered from his life as a bowling ball, moved up. "You pink-haired bitch, what did you do to her?!"

"Saved her life," Crona said quietly. "Shockwave Pulsar is like Soul Menace, but with a single difference. Soul Menace merely attacks the soul. When I match the Soul Wavelength, but send back an inversion of the enemy soul…"

Harry transformed back to normal, looking haggard after his struggles with pulling Crona out of her madness. "It _annihilates_ the soul, destroys it completely. It's a technique of last resort for us, as Weapons need to consume souls, obviously. It's also very difficult to use, requiring power and precision. Especially like that. We removed what there was of Medusa in Eruka."

Eruka stopped vomiting, and stared at the black pool of liquid on the floor. "Was this…her snakes?"

"That's what was of her that was in you," Crona said, her voice becoming less dead-sounding.

"Oh God, she put those into me to make her do this and…I didn't want to attract the attention of the Academy, I just wanted to…" She whimpered in fear, pulling her frog-like hat over her head. Free pushed the others aside, and squatted down next to her, putting an arm around her shoulder protectively.

"Eruka, calm down," Free said. He then looked at the Meisters, Weapons, and Blair. "You know what? Screw this, I'm out." Grabbing hold of Eruka, he leapt from wall to wall, breaking through the ceiling.

"Should we go after them?" Blair asked.

Maka shook her head. "The Witch isn't a threat for the moment, and if she was only being coerced into helping Medusa, then we'll let her go for the moment." She looked over at Crona. "Are you guys all right?"

"Not really," Harry admitted. "I barely pulled Crona out of the madness. I needed to get her to help me do that. That huge dose of Black Blood nearly sent her completely insane. What's worse, it was bleeding through into me."

Crona nodded, emitting a shuddering breath. "I…I don't want to feel that way ever again."

Maka nodded, before she pointed back down the corridor. She then frowned. "That's weird. Instead of four Witches, I'm sensing only one, but a more powerful one. Kid and Black Star are fighting her."

"What about Stein and my mother?" Crona asked.

"They're still fighting, though it's harder to sense them at this distance."

"Well, let's go help Kid and Black Star out," Blair said.

* * *

Kid was getting frustrated. He knew where Maka and the others had ended up, as he could sense their souls. But these four Witches, the Mizune sisters, had taken it upon themselves to merge into a single form, becoming a tall, rather attractive woman, with the underside of her breasts exposed by the cut of her costume. And her symmetry was enticing. Unfortunately, the fused Mizune Witch was also rather skilled with her magic.

He had been distracted, briefly, when Crona's soul surged, and seemed to fill to the brink with madness. Only now was he realising that it had receded, much to his relief.

The Witch and the other soul (possibly the Wolfman Free, judging by Mizune's comments) had fled soon after Crona recovered. He did notice something being removed from the Witch. What, he didn't know.

Soon, though, Mizune was surprised when Blair, Maka, Soul, Harry and Crona arrived. "You're sorely outnumbered, Witch. Surrender or retreat. It's up to you," Kid said. "Unless you want us to take your soul. Or souls. However it works."

Mifune scowled, before saying, "I'm not loyal enough to Medusa to stick around." She then glared at Blair. "And why do you dress like a tart?" Before Blair could retort, Mizune flew away.

"…Like she can talk, going on about her underboobs," Blair muttered sullenly.

"That's almost all of them," Maka remarked. "Eruka and that Free guy's already gone."

"And the Black Blood?"

"Back where it belongs. In me," Crona said, pointing to her body. "It was…hard to deal with. I couldn't have done so without Harry. I nearly drowned in the madness."

"Aw, man, you upstaged me _again!_ " Black Star complained.

Maka and Kid looked at each other. "Do you feel that?" Kid asked.

Maka nodded. "Stein and Medusa are in a stalemate."

Crona didn't say anything. Instead, Ragnarok's wings burst from her back, and she was soon flying back down the corridor, towards Stein and Medusa. "What the hell is she doing?!" Kid demanded.

"I think she wants closure," Maka whispered solemnly.

* * *

Crona, as she flew down the corridor, said to Harry, quietly, "Harry…does killing my mother make me a bad person? I…I don't know how to deal with things like this."

" _Crona…normally, it would be. But Medusa…remember what she did to you. Remember that she wanted to unleash Asura. In the end, we need to stop her from hurting or killing anyone else. And unlike Eruka, she doesn't feel sorry for what she did. We did it once before, in a moment of blind panic. But she survived. Now, we are stronger. I am the Soul Reaver, and you are my wielder, and my friend. Let's finish this, and go home._ "

They soon found Stein and Medusa holding each other at bay, each one poised to launch an attack, but unable to do so without hurting the other. Crona cried out, as she stabbed Harry forward, " _Ultimate Weapon Technique: The Soul Reaver!_ "

* * *

Medusa had just enough time to comprehend how badly her plan had failed, and that her death was upon her. She watched with an almost detached air as the serpentine sword reached her, aimed by Crona so that she would avoid hitting Stein, sheer momentum from Ragnarok's wings providing the thrusting power.

She was angry, of course, in the last conscious moments of her existence. Angry because there wasn't enough time to migrate her soul into one of her Snakes. Angry because her plans had been thwarted. Angry because she was about to die, _again_ , and permanently at that, at the hands of her useless daughter and that Weapon of hers.

And while she had no time to utter that word, her last thought before her body was destroyed and her soul was absorbed was a single word, utterly appropriate to her situation.

 _Shit_.

* * *

Stein watched, astonished, as Medusa burst into darkness, and her soul swiftly absorbed into Harry's Soul Reaver form. Crona skidded to a halt further along, the wings of Ragnarok unfolding back into her back. Harry transformed back, both of them looking dazed at where Medusa used to be. For a moment, there was stunned silence.

And then, Harry convulsed, blue light flaring from him. "What the…?!"

Stein blinked, and Spirit transformed back to normal. "I can't believe it," Spirit murmured. "Did he just…?"

Stein nodded, plucking out a cigarette and lighting it. "Kill Medusa, take her soul? Yep. And it seems young Harry is joining your little club, Spirit."

"What's happening to him?" Crona demanded.

"Calm down, Crona. He's becoming a Death Scythe, well, a Death Weapon anyway. 99 Kishin Egg souls, and a Witch's soul."

Harry convulsed again, crying out, suddenly stiffening, spreading his arms out and arching his head back. Blue light flared from him, increasingly brighter and brighter…

…Until it stopped, and he sagged to his knees, panting. "Oh God, oh God…I…that was bloody weird." He stared at his hands. "So…I'm a Death Scythe now?"

"Yep. Congratulations are in order, I guess. Let's get the others and head back. If we're lucky, the Independent Cube may have gone by now." Stein smiled at Harry and Crona. "And you two? Thanks."

Harry and Crona nodded, but Harry knew that Crona was still a little conflicted about killing her own mother. And not surprising. But at least they managed to halt her insane plans. Hopefully, that would be the last bit of excitement for a while…

 **CHAPTER 7 ANNOTATIONS:**

 **So, Harry's now a Death Scythe. And with Medusa dead and the Black Blood back in Crona, the storyline of Soul Eater has effectively been derailed. Well, Arachne won't put herself back together, not with Asura not out and about. BTW, the brief thoughts Spirit had about his motives in chasing Medusa out of the party came out of a PM discussion with perfectshade.**

 **The next chapter will be set after a timeskip of about a year, up to the events of** ** _Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire_** **. Fair warning.**

 **Review-answering time!** **duskrider** **: Death may very well tell Kid about who Asura really is, but not yet.**

 **No numbered annotations this time.**


	9. Epilogue: Celebration

**EPILOGUE:**

 **CELEBRATION**

Given the disruption of the previous night, it was decided to remount the anniversary celebration for the following night. And indeed, there was something else to celebrate other than the anniversary of the DWMA's founding. Medusa Gorgon had been slain, and with her demise, a new Death Scythe had been born, in the unassuming form of Harry Potter.

Both Harry and Crona were uneasy with the praise and attention being heaped upon them, and Black Star's yells of being upstaged didn't help. So as the party went into full swing, and after doing a token dance, they left the main part of the party for the balcony they had retreated to before.

They weren't alone. Once more, Soul and Maka joined them on the balcony. So too did Death the Kid, Liz, and Patty. Blair soon joined them, along with Mifune and Angela.

For a time, there was silence. Everyone here (save for Mifune and Angela, though they heard about what happened afterwards) had been through that hell beneath Death City, a hell that nearly ended with Asura being freed, and Crona going berserk. Only by good fortune had they managed to survive, and indeed, triumph, with so little cost. The only fatality of that night was Medusa herself. Even the usually enthusiastic and playful Angela seemed to understand the solemnity of the situation.

It was Kid who broke the silence. "You did the right thing," he said quietly to Crona and Harry.

"I know," Crona said. "But…she was my mother. It's not like she loved me, given what she did…but I wish she _had_ loved me. That she cared about me more than an experiment."

"I wish my relatives had loved me," Harry remarked, looking across Death City. "But I couldn't make them. To them, I was just a freak. At least here, at the DWMA, we're thought of as people."

"Don't overthink it," Soul drawled. "Try to relax, enjoy yourselves."

"Soul…" chided Maka, elbowing her Weapon in the ribs. But Soul meant well.

"Don't be sad, Harry, and Crona," Angela said. "I still love you two. You just had to stop a mean Witch from doing bad things. I promise not to be a mean Witch."

Harry and Crona chuckled, despite themselves, as did the others, even the usually stoic Mifune. "I don't think that's going to happen," Maka said. "You becoming a mean Witch, anyway. You're too cute."

Angela poked her tongue out at Maka, as did her chameleon-like hat. After a moment, Harry gently put his arm around Crona's shoulders. The pink-haired girl stiffened briefly at the intimate gesture, before leaning into him, taking comfort in his proxmity. No words needed to be said. The gestures said everything for them, in a way mere words could only emulate shallowly. A soft, gentle smile came over both of their features. They just stood there, and gazed out across at Death City…

* * *

Back at the party proper, Lord Death looked over at Harry and Crona, just visible through the doors to the balcony area. If he was actually capable of doing so with his mask-like face, Death would have smiled. Two damaged souls, drawn together, and now becoming something more, if his soul-sensing ability was any guide.

Soul Resonance: the union of two souls in harmony. The bonds could be that of friendship or camaraderie, or really of any kind. But perhaps the strongest bond that could be formed was that of love. Not just the love of friendship, but either that of family, or of a romantic bond.

Death realised something that he could see for some time, but hadn't quite realised. Harry and Crona were not just friends. They were beginning to fall in love. Oh, it was the merest ember yet, fed by their strong friendship. But it was there.

Love could prove to be the ultimate bond that could fuel Soul Resonance to its highest level. But if it went wrong, it could create something darker in its wake. Death had seen many a Meister and Weapon relationship tied strongly together by love…or torn apart when things went sour. In fact, the divorce between Spirit and Maka's mother was, while acrimonious, not anywhere near as bad as things had happened in the past. Some jilted Weapons or Meisters became Kishin Eggs, and had to be killed by the DWMA.

But love could help drive away the darkness and madness within the heart. And with Crona now overflowing with Black Blood, she needed Harry's help more than ever. Even so, he was heartened to see their souls bonding. Two damaged souls, divided by the wall between worlds, still managed to find each other.

It may not have been fate or destiny that brought them together, merely an accident. But he hoped that fate would keep them together, for they had the potential to be one of his best Meister and Weapon pairs ever.

Even so, he knew that Harry's fate on the World of Exile hadn't gone away. The vile soul fragment he had extracted from Harry, a Horcrux, was proof enough of that. Voldemort was doubtless still alive, and Death was sure that Voldemort would try to find Harry once he regained more of his power. And when that day finally came, Lord Death hoped that both Harry and Crona were ready…

* * *

In his prison made from his own skin, Asura slept an uneasy sleep of madness between life and death, barely aware that he had almost been freed.

* * *

Scattered spiders containing the essence of Arachne Gorgon thought of her sister's demise, and considered it good riddance.

* * *

Eruka, Free, and the Mizune sisters claimed one of Medusa's old hideouts as their own, at least for the time being. They needed to find a way to get back into the good graces of their fellow Witches before approaching them. After all, they had nearly caused a disaster by attacking the DWMA. They could only hope that Maba was forgiving…

* * *

In Loew Village in the Czech Republic, a man by the name of Saw was unable to fully awaken as the reincarnation of his ancestor, Giriko. He toiled while a golem containing his mistress' dark soul waited patiently for a signal to rise again. A signal that would never come…

* * *

But what of the World of Exile? What of events there?

* * *

Petunia Dursley finds that her hand itches. Even though it isn't there. Phantom pain, it was called. Like a ghost of her real hand is there, instead of the crude mechanical hooks.

There were other things that itched, more abstract than phantom pain. Resentment. Anger. Hatred. She was familiar with how these things itched at the mind. And they were, as usual, focused on three targets, one abstract, and the other two more concrete.

The wizards in general. And in particular, her late and (by her) unlamented sister Lily, along with Lily's bastard offspring, Harry. The one who had cost her her hand with his freakishness, even though she had never heard of a wizard being able to turn their arm into a blade. But she knew it had to be possible.

Even so, explaining what had happened to the police and the paramedics hadn't gone anywhere. They realised just as the sound of sirens echoed up the street that they couldn't say what actually happened, or else they'd get locked up for being insane. So, instead, they said that Harry had somehow come across a really sharp cleaver and had managed to sever Petunia's hand, before fleeing from them as they called the police.

And in the midst of all THAT chaos, the old goat known as Albus Dumbledore showed up, doing his freakish mind tricks to implant a different scenario in the emergency service personnel's various heads. He had offered to heal up the hand, but Petunia and Vernon wanted nothing to do with that. And then, he had the gall to chew them out over their treatment of the little freak, even though they were doing what they had every right to do. After all, he must've been dangerous to have his arm turn into a blade and sever her hand!

He would become a familiar and very much unwanted presence over the next few weeks. The surgery to reattach the hand was a failure, an infection setting in and becoming gangrenous. And as she went through the procedure to have hooks placed in its stead, Dumbledore dropped by during her recovery to interrogate her.

He seemed to know something, the old goat. Something he refused to tell her. And he had the gall to treat her with contempt. He even claimed that the protection on their house had collapsed thanks to her actions.

Well, if the little freak ever made the mistake of darkening her doorstep again, she would make sure he received a welcome he would not forget in a long time…

* * *

Fleeing from Hogwarts after an abortive attempt to kill Pettigrew, Sirius Black, in the form of a large black dog, found himself wondering where Harry was. It had been headline news a couple of years back that Harry Potter had never shown up at Hogwarts. Nobody would tell him anything. Indeed, it was only the revelation that the rat was with the Weasleys that provided the impetus for him to break free from Azkaban.

Still, even as he rushed down the secret passage to the Shrieking Shack, he had to wonder, what had happened to his godson? Where had Harry gone? Was there ever the possibility of them seeing each other again?

* * *

Remus Lupin too was troubled about Harry. He was troubled by many things: his lycanthropy, the fact that his traitorous former friend had escaped from Azkaban, and the fact that Snape was looking for any excuse to give him grief. But Harry's status nagged at his mind. Dumbledore wouldn't say a thing. In fact, when Lupin pressed the issue, Dumbledore had actually shouted at him that he didn't know where Harry was. It was rare that Dumbledore raised his voice, and Lupin had been shocked into silence.

Even so, the matter was far from settled, any more than Lupin's heart was. Harry was all that was left to him, with James and Lily dead, along with Peter, and Sirius a traitor…

* * *

Professor Severus Snape was ambivalent. On the one hand, Potter's spawn may very well be dead, cause enough for celebration. On the other hand, Lily's child may very well be dead. Not cause for celebration. And that senile old fool had left Harry with that harridan Petunia! That bitch would have badly mistreated Harry. True, it would have prevented the boy from getting a big head, and there was a part of Snape that wanted the spawn of James Potter to suffer. But even so…

Still, there were other matters at hand, like to catch Sirius Black, his childhood tormentor, and make him pay. And hopefully, he might be able to get the werewolf Kissed into the bargain as well…

* * *

To two of the Weasley children, it was a major disappointment that Harry never came to Hogwarts. Ronald Weasley had wanted to be the friend of the Boy Who Lived. And Ginny wanted to see her crush up close. Both had their dreams crushed when Harry never turned up. Still, Ron and Ginny had made friends anyway. They still pined for a time when they would finally meet the Boy Who Lived…

* * *

Albus Dumbledore contemplated his actions, and found them wanting. Of all of those who knew anything about what truly happened to Harry, only he knew what that strange Transfiguration signified. Or rather, he suspected he knew what it meant. Of course, he had tried sending Fawkes, but Fawkes didn't go anywhere.

For some weird reason, a rhyme kept sticking in his head. A silly little rhyme that he half-remembered from childhood. He didn't realise the significance of it.

 _Forty-two, forty-two, five-six-four,_

 _Whenever you want to knock on Death's Door._

 _Forty-two, forty-two, five-six-four,_

 _Whenever on the Reaper you wish to call(_ _1)_.

* * *

Lord Voldemort, still stuck in the form of a spirit, did not wish to call upon the Reaper. Unless it was to annihilate his enemies. But he didn't. He was afraid, although he would not admit this to anyone, least of all himself, that he might call attention upon him.

Instead, he raged impotently about Mudbloods and Blood Traitors who had thwarted him time and again. And he vowed that he would find Harry Potter, no matter where the little bastard was hiding, and put an end to him for once and for all.

 **THE END**

 **EPILOGUE ANNOTATIONS:**

 **Well, here we are at the end of** ** _Journey of the Sorcerer_** **. Yes, I know. I finished the fic just as things were getting good, I'm sure many of you will say. Well, there's a few good reasons why I wanted to end this fic here and now.**

 **Firstly, I need more completed fics to my name. I keep starting them and not finishing them.**

 **Secondly, we've just come to the right point to bring the story to an end for the time being, namely Harry and Crona killing Medusa, and bringing events in the universe of** ** _Soul Eater_** **more or less to a close.**

 **Thirdly, I'm lacking inspiration at the moment for this story, and lacking inspiration is a killer of stories.**

 **Fourthly, I'm not actually abandoning the overall story. In fact, later on down the track, I will write a sequel, set during the events of** ** _The Goblet of Fire_** **. In fact, that's another reason why I'm ending the fic and putting the story on the backburner. I've got two stories already in the air set during the events of** ** _The Goblet of Fire_** **:** ** _Henry Ashford and the Goblet of Fire_** **, and** ** _In Spite of Appearances_** **. It gets kind of boring writing about the same events over and over again** ** _ad nauseum_** **. So I don't need a third story set during those events.**

 **I'm sorry if you guys are feeling frustrated, but to end the story now is my prerogative. When I come to write the sequel, I will post about it.**

 **Review-answering time!** **Guest** **: Yes, Ragnarok still needs to become a Death Scythe. He may for the sequel.**

 **perfectshade** **: I'm glad you enjoyed it, but I haven't read far enough into the manga for the debut of Eibon, so I can't honestly say.**

 **oakwoodouroburos** **: Sadly, I am ending this fic here, though the story isn't abandoned as of yet. Be patient, though, you'll most likely have to wait a few months at least. Dumbledore suspects where Harry has gone to, or at least what Harry has become, but he will be, understandably, confused. I will discuss how the other characters dealt with the events of the first three books in the sequel.**

 **1\. The first two lines, of course, come from the English dub of the anime (I think it's a nifty little poem, given that the numbers don't have the same morbid connotations in English that they do in Japanese), while the next two are my own invention. Please don't hit me…**


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